East of my Heart
by teddypusscat
Summary: Minnie liked the way Sirius' right cheek had a dimple but not his left. She liked to watch the bow of his lips as he talked - the slight indentation of his fuller upper lip almost a natural pout. But Minnie, betrothed to Sirius as a babe in a barbaric pure-blood arranged marriage, knew that he loathed her.
1. A shaky duet

**Authors note:** Some of the best things in life are created when we feel the most dissatisfied. After clicking around on a few Sirius Black fics I found myself disappointed at how young Sirius is portrayed as a womaniser, obscenely arrogant and sometimes densely obtuse. It's understandable, since there's very little published about teenage Sirius and many authors fills those gaps with their own experiences. In 'East of my Heart' I wanted to explore his character arch, how he developed from 'an arrogant little berk' to the deeply flawed but very magnetic man he became in books three through five. This is a coming of age fic, there are romances, mistakes, fears, failures, desires, friendships and difficult family ties abound.

* * *

It was on a brisk November evening in 1960 that two men sealed the fate of their first born children. At just under a year old, both Sirius Black and Williamina Fawley had no inkling that their fathers had arranged their eventual marriage. A match of the century, their families declared - one celebrated as an exemplary joining of two historical pure-blooded families. Hands were shook, drinks were chinked and magically binding contract with excessive fine print was signed by both parties with a flourish.

* * *

Minnie detested her birth name. Williamina is a name that summons thoughts of spinsterhood and batty aunts - of sad old ladies who owned so many cats, they were never quite sure how many cats they actually owned. If Minnie could choose her own name, she'd pick one that sings of romance, like Rosie or Sofia. A soft name that would fit her like the heroines in her favourite novels.

Never one for secrets, her parents had told her of her eventual marriage to a pure blood wizard her own age, but had never felt the need to introduce the two of them officially, since they believed their children understood their duties to their families. Minnie believed in love at first sight and had initially trusted her parents' choice, until all attempts to get to know Sirius Black during their first few years at Hogwarts were met with disdain. He refused to even acknowledge her existence.

This hurt and rejection that Minnie felt was taken home to her parents after each school year, which lead her mother and father to take up their issues with Sirius' parents in the hope of reining him in, but which had Sirius sneering at her all the more.

It was a shame, Minnie thought, while in the library on an unseasonably cold October evening, he was rather fetching. She'd come to the library to study for her OWLs, (not due for several more months but still!) and had instead spent a pleasurable few hours rereading her favourite Laverne de Montmorency novel. Sighing, she'd glanced up and noticed Sirius had fallen asleep in one of the libraries plush armchairs. He was accompanied just by Remus (unusual, to see just two of the four boys) and Minnie allowed herself to watch Sirius undisturbed. Head back, with the long column of his throat exposed, it was the first time she'd seen him look so vulnerable. Yes, Minnie quietly agreed, what a shame! He'd have made quite the dashing hero in a good romance novel; handsome beyond doubt with willowy grace not often seen in men, loyal and witty, a brave Gryffindor with a good smattering of...

Her eyes snapped back to her book as he awoke without warning and fixed her with a knowing look. Cheeks warm and unable to endure his scrutiny any longer, Minnie stood with a louder scrape of her chair than intended in the hush of the library. Not caring about crumpling her essays, she unceremoniously dumped them in her backpack, threw it over her shoulder and left without a backwards glance.


	2. saccharine kisses

Minnie knew how she appeared to Sirius. He thought her the good girl who did the right thing, the girl who married on command, obedient and quiet, dull and timid. A Hufflepuff like the rest of her family with lineage tracing all the way back to Hogwarts founder, Helga Hufflepuff, the proof of which was a priceless cup lost along with her great aunt, Hepzibah some two decades prior. A Hufflepuff, yes, but still a pure blood and the Black family had few _suitable_ matches left to them outside their own cousins.

Not ready to return to her common room, Minnie approached the painting of the fruit bowl down the hallway from her common room. A ticklish pear gave way to a flurry of activity as almost every house elf in Britain accosted her with so much dessert, she wasn't sure if she could hear her tummy grumbling or her pancreas whinging. Maybe I really am bland she thinks grabbing a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits before hurrying off up the stairs, thanking her brother silently as she took a couple of little known passages to stay as far away from the library as possible.

Her brother Charles, or Charlie to her, was the golden boy in the family. A Hufflepuff like herself but also a Chaser and Quidditch Captain, he went on to graduate Hogwarts last year with exemplary NEWTs and then marry the girl he'd been arranged to, just like Minnie was, difference being they were actually besotted with each other. What her parents didn't know is that when Charlie had been at Hogwarts he'd also been cheeky to his professors and knew many of the secret passages throughout the castle (although claimed nobody alive knew them all).

Minnie sighed as she sat on the ledge of one of the empty astronomy towers, careful not to spill her tea. It was around 8pm and dark already, where had those long summer evening gone? Minnie thought as she pulled out her camera and used a freezing charm to keep it as still as possible as she framed a shot of the castle, bathed in a warm glow under the cool blanket of night.

It's not as if she'd been pining for Sirius all this time. During her fourth year she decided he wasn't that great after all – he was always in detention, read muggle bike magazines and wore his hair a tad too long – a tired cliché of a rebellious teenage boy. Maybe her parents would let her marry someone else after all, she thought, picturing Thomas, a friend of her elder brother's.

She'd spent much of the previous summer in Diagon Alley, meandering the askew shelves of the musky second-hand bookshop that Thomas had begun working in after leaving Hogwarts. She asked him for help locating authors, wanted his recommendations, was almost a little overbearing in the way fifteen-year-old girls can be, but harmlessly so. She thought he knew she had a little crush on him, but he didn't seem to mind, so back she went whenever she thought enough time had passed since her last visit.

'I'm a voracious reader,' she had claimed one hot August afternoon just before the day became too clammy, her eyes roaming over his kind face as he laughed. 'Are you hungry?' He asked as warm brown eyes watching her closely, 'I'm just about finished for the day and an ice-cream has been calling my name.' Minnie responded with a blush and a smile.

Thomas lead Minnie just next door to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour with a hand on the small of her back. While uncomfortably aware that Minnie was his good friend's little sister, Thomas had quite liked the young woman she'd developed into. Her large brown eyes and ever so slightly chubby cheeks had continued with her from childhood, the slender waist and rounded hips a new feature. She evoked in him a feeling of protectiveness that was no longer that of a friend's little sister. He had bought her butterscotch ice-cream and made her laugh before kissing her chilled and saccharine lips across the plastic table.

It was these thoughts that kept Minnie warm while sitting on the cold stone of the astronomy tower, legs dangling over the edge. For one perverse moment she wondered what would happen if she jumped, but instead hauled herself to her feet and started the ten-minute walk back to her common room, timing it to arrive right before 9pm curfew.

The entrance to the Hufflepuff common room lies conveniently down the hall from the kitchens, find the stack of barrels and tap out a tune on the middle barrel of the second row to gain entrance. Cheerful honey tones greeted Minnie as she sought out Anna Wright, muggle born and best friend since first year sorting ceremony, when Minnie held Anna's trembling hand. Anna later confessed she had asked the sorting hat to put her in Hufflepuff as well so that she'd have a friend, Minnie was glad she had.

While Minnie considered Anna her very best friend, she had wanted to keep Thomas her little secret at first, but Anna had just given a very lively account of her summer in Peru and Minnie felt a little competitive. So it all came out, Thomas, tall and wiry, older and therefore cooler, gave Minnie her first kiss.

'Min! You never said!' Anna shrieked, earning a few glares from around the common room. Leaning forward Anna whispers, 'how was it?'

Minnie blushed and hated herself for not being more nonchalant about it, claimed it was nice. Nice? Anna repeats. 'Yes, nice.'

Anna looked a bit put out. 'No thumping heartbeats? No electric touches? No chemistry?!'

'What's chemistry?'

'Ah, don't worry,' Anna watches her friend shrewdly. 'Well at least you're smitten, kitten.'


	3. midnight meanderings

The next few weeks passed by in a flurry of homework and classes, and before the students knew it, an actually flurry of snow had coated the school. For every meal Minnie sat with her back to Sirius and his friends, not wanting to get caught staring again. She divided the little remaining free time she had left after her studies between her romance novels and hanging out with Anna.

Although she was trying to hide it, Minnie felt bitter disappointment at having received just one letter from Thomas in September and then nothing for two months. While she had never told him to write her while she was at Hogwarts, she had assumed he would just want to and the excuses she'd made on his behalf were starting to sound frail and tired to her own ears.

The evening before Christmas break found Minnie back at her favourite astronomy tower, with a tear streaked face and listless expression. She'd decided she had grown weary of the one-way communication with Thomas and it was time to get to work forgetting him. He was very obviously not her dashing hero, or it seemed even remotely interested in her. While it was chilly out, she wore her oversized cardigan and lay her hot, raw face on the smooth cold stone and huffed a sigh.

Minnie awoke with a start as a brisk wind blew her cardigan over her shoulder. Her heart sank as she ripped her sleeve back to reveal 11.48pm. She stumbled to her feet, heart racing in her ears, she would need lady luck's good favour to make it back to her common room without attracting the attention of the young, but sour caretaker, Mr Filch. Not detentions right before Christmas! Please!

It was with these thoughts in her head that Minnie hurtled around a corner and with an 'Oooohf' barged straight into something rather solid that sent her sprawling on the hall carpet.

'What the fu-' was all she got out before a long fingered hand shot out of nowhere, firmly grasped her own, hauled her to her feet and covered her with a material that was soft and velvety, like silk. Minnie ran her hands over it, enjoying the way the invisibility cloak (for that was what she was sure it was) slipped through her fingers like liquid. Between being entranced with the cloak and the fog of sleep in her brain it hadn't occurred to Minnie to wonder who was standing so close to her and it wasn't until she inhaled a whiff of smokiness, that she looked straight up into the collarbone of Sirius Black. Minnie squeaked and Sirius placed a finger on his lips with a glance her way, before watching the end of the hallway where Minnie heard the distinctive muttering of Filch.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes or hours, Minnie could not say which, while they waited for Filch to move on. She spent the time trying to breathe deeply and calm the racket of her heart. Sirius eventually gave her a nudge and placed a hand on the small of her back to lead the way, reminding Minnie uncomfortably of someone else doing the same. She gently brushed him off and muttered a short thanks.

Sirius shrugged his shoulders with languid grace as they wandered back to the Hufflepuff common room. He was trying to read what looked like a map under the light of his wand and hold up the cloak at the same time. 'Give it here, I'll hold it for you,' Minnie commanded reaching out for the map.

Sirius flicked it out of reach, 'say please!'

'I don't need to say please; I'm doing you a favour!'

He chuckled, a low rumble that started deep in his chest. 'We're here.'

So we are, thought Minnie, looking at the barrels as the cloak was lifted from her, 'how did you know this is where our common room is?' She asked the dark hallway, but received no response. Sirius had gone.

Minnie crawled through the round hole into the 5th year girls' dorm and wriggled under the patchwork quilt on her bed. What a funny night, she thought and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning at breakfast in the Great Hall, Minnie plonked herself down across from Anna and pinches a piece of toast off her plate. 'Hey, that was mine!' Anna snatched her plate away and sent her knife and fork clattering to the floor. 'Look at all that toast in the middle of the table that belongs to nobody! Look at it, just waiting to be eaten and you choose mine!' Minnie threw her head back and laughed before she pinched another piece.

'He's looking at you.'

'Who?' Minnie asked, but she already knew.

'Sirius Black,' Anna said to her plate but with a sly glance through her fringe.

Minnie twisted back to pick Anna's fork up from the floor, sweeping her thick dark hair in front of her face as she peeked at Sirius.

'No, he's not!' Minnie kicked Anna under the table.

'Would I make that up just to see that look of longing on your face?'

'Fuck off!'

'Okay, I probably would but I didn't make it up this time. He was looking at you.' Anna looked at Minnie thoughtfully. 'Right, are you packed? Because the horseless carriages will be leaving shortly.'

'Uggh' Minnie groaned, she'd forgotten to do it last night after her after curfew run. She flicked him another glance as she left but he was laughing at an imitation James was pulling. She hurried back to her dorm to pack.


	4. Turmoil

If Minnie had known that that Christmas would be the last one spent with her whole family she might have been more present. But how could she know this? Minnie ignored the tense articles popping up more frequently in the Daily Prophet alluring to dark wizards and unexplained disappearances. She really thought it would have blown over by now. Instead she spent much of the time reading romance stories or trying to visit Diagon Alley, so she could accidentally bump into Thomas and then tell him he can shove it. But Diagon Alley wasn't as bustling as it usually is at this time of the year. With just a handful of Christmas shoppers out at a time, her father had warned her about going there alone.

The only thing of interest to Minnie happened the day before she was due back at school when her father received a letter from Walburga Black. Sirius had run from home and had been disowned. The arranged marriage was off.

* * *

To Minnie's surprise, the strongest feeling had at hearing this news was relief. While she found Sirius attractive, she thought he could easily be more work than he was worth. And if she was really, truly honest with herself, she would admit that she just wanted to have a romance like the characters in her books, she wanted a man who made grand gestures of love and Sirius just didn't seem the type. She was sure that this time around, her family would allow her to choose her own husband.

Back at school Sirius felt like he had the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. The loss of inheritance a small price to pay for never having to hear his mother's shrill insults again and dodging the marriage contact was a nice bonus. He owed the Potter family big time, although they don't seem to mind having him around the house over Christmas.

While arranged marriages have been illegal under wizarding law since 1796, many pure blood families will simply 'donate' certain ministers a hefty bag of gold to ensure their eyes remained averted while small children are promised to other, sometimes older children. It was a dark world his family idolised.

His own parents' marriage had been a result of an in-family arrangement. Walburga and Orion were second cousins, a fact that made Sirius feel shame and he wished to separate himself from them as much as possible.

His parents were often formal towards each other, never displaying warmth and affection, but nor did they quarrel. Instead they remained a solid duo, united in their loathing of blood traitors and mud bloods.

His father he barely knew - cold and distant, often not around. His mother much worse – the insults and putdowns, family duty and the 'done' thing, Sirius had heard enough of that bull to last a life time.

Sirius had vowed to himself to keep as far away from relationship commitment in all its forms as humanly possible. Love wasn't a factor he needed in his life, not when he had the fairly uncomplicated friendship from his mates. He had all he needed in life, and besides, the girl would be better off without him.

For Sirius the choice was simple, the relationships he'd chosen were far stronger than the ones he'd been born into, and so he severed himself from his family and all they stood for.

* * *

Minnie, however, wasn't given the choice when it came to her own family.

On a thick and foggy March morning, Minnie received an owl that will forever cleave her life in two, for yesterday she thought she had a family and today she found she does not.

Minnie felt something unpleasantly leaden settle in her stomach as soon as she saw the slightly shaky handwriting on the letter from her normally neat and precise cousin Maria who resided in Prague. But it wasn't until she saw the words, 'I'm so sorry to inform you of your parents early passing la…' that the thrumming of her heartbeat in her ears overcame her senses and she stumbled blindly to her feet, knocking her plate to the floor in the process.

Only marginally aware of somebody (possibly Anna) calling her name, Minnie let her feet carry her, only realising after she was hit by a cold breeze that she was halfway out the front door.

Breathless footfalls sounded behind her and Minnie caught a mouthful of hair as Anna threw her arms around her. The two friends stood, a pillar of strength for many minutes before Anna pulled back, hands on Minnie's shoulders. Minnie stared back, eyes dry but unfocused.

Minnie wasn't sure how she would have gotten through that day without Anna's support. First she led her to Professor Sprout's office, where Dumbledore was already waiting and expecting her.

It has transpired, Dumbledore kindly explained, that her parents, as upstanding pureblood wizards, had been sought out as potential Death Eaters, an invitation where the only other alternative to joining Voldemort's ranks were death. They fought bravely, Dumbledore implored, and were rewarded with a quick and painless end. Minnie's only response was a wet hiccupy sob.

Minnie wished she'd talked to her parents about the rising dark wizards, she wished she'd asked if they were in danger, she wished she told her mum she loved her, she wished she'd hugged her dad one last time. She felt so foolish and naive to have spent those last precious hours with her family pining over a man who never cared for her.

Without her parents to tether and ground her, to provide a safety net to bounce off when she fell, Minnie felt cut loose in the world. She wished to drift off the face of the Earth and burn up on the surface of the Sun.

Through the fog of grief, Minnie remembered her brother Charlie and his wife Cecilia, and Dumbledore seemed to know exactly what she was about to ask before the words left her mouth.

'Charlie and Cecilia are in hiding with members of the resistance known as the Order of the Phoenix,' Dumbledore spoke quietly but clearly. 'We advise you to stay at Hogwarts where you will be safe and Charlie will be in touch when the school year breaks.

Anna held Minnie's hand through these devastating words, an echo of their first day at Hogwarts.

* * *

In the following weeks Minnie spent most of her days asleep. She missed classes, she missed Hogsmeade weekend, she missed most of January. In between the stretches of deep dreamless oblivion were pockets of Anna - Anna showing her notes from the day, bringing her library books, telling her gossip and sharing chocolate frogs. If it weren't for Anna, Minnie felt she could have remained in bed forever.

She didn't though. Anna's sweet encouragement eventually turned to tough love.

'If you stay in bed, the Death Eaters have won.' Anna urged. 'You won't have heard of this phrase, but you have to keep calm and carry on. Acknowledge the great sacrifice your parents made, remember them, but you have to get on with life.'

When Minnie finally rejoined her class on Monday morning, she was surprised at how she was received. While some students had quiet words condolences for Minnie, others avoided her like she was contagious - like her misfortune might rub off on them if they got too close. A few Slytherins even sneered at her and she wondered with a painful twist of her heart if their families killed hers.


	5. a lesson in conviction

It was after of a particularly long and difficult transfiguration lesson on Vanishing Charms (made all the more stressful by McGonagall's hints that they may feature heavily in their forthcoming OWLs), that Minnie felt a firm hand on her arm.

'May I speak with you?' Sirius asked and Minnie heard all the lessons in proper etiquette flow into his well-spoken speech.

Meeting a few curious eyes in the classroom hallway, Minnie uttered an offhand 'sure'. Once upon a time she would have been as curious as a cat if Sirius asked to speak to her, but not these days – not since the _incident_ as she called it _._ She asked Anna to save her a seat in their next class and she could see Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew waiting just out of earshot.

'I am so sorry to hear about your parents, Minnie, they were good people. They fought back even when the odds were against them, when it would have been so _easy_ to just join the Death Eaters. I wish my own family was a little more like yours were.'

'You wish your family dead?' Minnie uttered, her face stony and eyes sharp.

'Better dead than championing Voldemort and his depraved followers!' Sirius exclaimed fiercely while Minnie flinched.

'I don't care! I don't care that they died fighting for the cause! It was a waste of life and I just want them back! It's easy for you to say, your family is alive and you just threw them away!' Minnie could feel hot tears spill on her cheeks and felt astonished that she still had tears left to cry after the last week.

Sirius began to look like he very much regretted starting this conversation, but credit to his character, he continued.

'I threw them away' Sirius spoke slowly, conjuring a soft satiny tissue, 'because they were heinous individuals who believed some lives to be worth more than others. If Voldemort's cronies approached them with the options of enlist or death, they would have signed up without hesitation.'

Minnie feeling shaky, leant her back against the corridor wall. Sirius mirrored her on the opposite side and they looked at each other as silent seconds passed.

Sirius broke the silence with a murmur, 'your brother is alive – all is not yet lost.' Minnie felt too drained to ask how he knew this.

Instead, she threw these carefully chosen words into the void between them. 'I've noticed you've also cut ties with your brother,' Minnie cleared her throat and pushed on, sure that had overstepped the line. 'He's just a fourth year, surely he's not already lost to you-know-who?' Minnie noticed that Sirius' friends had already left for their next class.

Sirius ran his hand through his hair and looked resigned. 'It feels like it. My mother had long ago poisoned his mind with pure blood supremacist riffraff.'

'So you're giving up? You may be the only person who can turn him around – give him a way out.'

Sirius sighed, 'come on, we're late for History of Magic.'

Minnie pushed herself off the wall with a groan. 'Great.' She started towards the first floor, but Sirius with a tilt of his head in the opposite direction said, 'this way.'

Minnie, with the tiniest of pauses, followed. Pulling back a large wall hanging of Almeric Sawbridge duelling a river troll, Sirius led them down a sloping passage. 'Duck!' he called out as he rounded a corner with a low hanging ceiling and bounded ahead with long-legged grace.

Sure that she knew most of the passages in the castle from her brother, Minnie was surprised to have missed this one. Judging by the direction they were heading, they would arrive just outside the classroom.

They entered the hallway on the first floor behind a large vase and Sirius, with the smallest of glances in her direction, opened the classroom door for Minnie and they entered to wide-eyed interest from the other students. Professor Binns continued to drone on about Goblin Rebellions of the eighteenth century and was seemingly unaware that two students had entered late. Minnie took her seat as Anna slid a piece of parchment across her desk.

 **What the HELL was that about?!** Minnie read as she noticed two Gryffindor girls talking about her in exaggerated whispers.

Minnie filled Anna in on what she had missed, which was 'disappointingly little,' Anna claimed, 'he could have at least snogged you to make you feel better,' she whispered and Minnie chortled.


	6. Cheek and lip

Minnie had almost forgotten her little exchange with Sirius until one windy afternoon in late April. With Anna down with the flu, Sirius offered to partner up with Minnie for their Herbology class down in the greenhouses. Minnie noticed Potter looked putout to be working with Pettigrew today, with Lupin apparently down with the flu also.

They were working in pairs to de-teeth the fanged geranium for Professor Slughorn's potion classes. Sirius' job was to hold open the jaw of the flower with dragon hide gloves while Minnie pried them out with a paring knife.

She expected Sirius had something to tell her but instead they worked quietly, listening to the wind batter the walls of the greenhouse with slanted rain. Minnie thought curiously about how she no longer fancied Sirius with the same intensity of last year, she felt that after that _incident_ (she avoided saying murder even in her head) she had somewhat grown up. Her childish crushes on people she barely knew (her intense feelings towards Thomas similar) had her feeling rather embarrassed. She liked to look at Sirius – as did many of the girls in her school – but the fantasies she once nurtured had seemingly died alongside her family.

It was only after prising out a few fangs that Sirius finally cleared his throat to speak.

'I had a frank conversation with my brother Regulus about my Mother's influence on him and while it's a shoddy patch-up of a brotherly relationship, I'm hopeful I can still turn him around before he gets any ideas of joining the Death Eaters.'

'Good,' Minnie replied, a little unsure of why he was telling her.

'I, err, wouldn't have bothered if you hadn't encouraged me to make amends, so thanks,' he said with his eyes focused on the snapping geranium. Minnie could hear James yelping as he attempted to work with Peter at the next station over.

She had never heard Sirius so nervous and she grinned, 'you sound like you've never said a proper thank-you before, don't you like being indebted to me?'

'Not particularly, _Williamina,_ ' smirk back in place, Sirius flicked his hair out his face and met her eyes.

'Oi! I have a knife and I'm not afraid to stab you.'

'I'm not afraid to be stabbed,' Sirius quipped.

'Alright then, let's go and then we'll see who chickens out first.'

Sirius responded by pulling the side of his shirt up to reveal the left side of his taut and lean torso. 'Don't forget to twist – or would you prefer to take a stab at my icy, black heart?'

Minnie, a little flushed, just laughs. The word _strapping_ floated through her head as she wondered if maybe she should dial it back on the romance fiction in future, maybe her mother was right when she said it was going to her head.

* * *

But as it turned out, Minnie had little time anyway for romance novels or thoughts of Sirius as OWLs fast approached. Often she found students sitting in the corner of the library, head in hands having a tiny crisis, and tears in the girls' bathrooms were commonplace.

Minnie loved studying for written exams, it was the practical ones she was nervous for. She considered herself to be magically competent, but as soon as she knew she was being watched and judged, she would get all flustered and instead of cheer charming Anna, she'd change the colour of her hair to bright yellow. So Anna and Minnie had taken to practising spells in the Hufflepuff common room in front of the other students, to help them become accustomed to having an audience.

As silly as it seemed at the time, all the extra spell work paid off and Minnie was quietly confident that she did rather well on most of her exams – with the exception of Defence against the Dark Arts, that was a lost cause if she ever saw one. It had been a relief to focus her mind on something other than fear for Charlie's safety and where he might be hiding. She hoped he and his wife were well, to think otherwise was, well, Minnie didn't consider the alternative.

To celebrate the end of exams, other Hufflepuffs in their year had pinched a few butterbeers from the kitchen and were handing them around. Anna and Minnie drank a couple and then decided to go for a walk in the grounds now that the weather had warmed up and the sunlight stretched out the day.

After giggling at the sight of a few students swimming in the lake, Anna tentatively asked, 'what will you do when school breaks up for the year, where will you live?'

Minnie took a deep breath before responding. 'My parents left Charlie and I the contents of their vault and you know I'm still a minor which makes Charlie my legal guardian, but he is in hiding right now.' Anna nodded. 'After speaking with Sprout, I think my best option is to stay at The Leaky Cauldron Inn at Diagon Alley, where there are plenty of witches and wizards around to keep an eye on me. Sprout said she'd put a word in with the Innkeeper Tom to watch over me. Although, I may join my cousin Maria in Prague for a few weeks – find myself a nice European boy to settle down with!'

Anna laughed, 'it wouldn't surprise me!'


	7. Pandemonium

Minnie's room at the Leaky Cauldron was dusty and small but not decrepit, with wide windows that looked down onto the courtyard bellow. Her family home remained vacant not too far from Diagon Alley, but Minnie couldn't stomach visiting the site of her parents' grim deaths. Anyway, her room at the Inn was cosy and comfortable, the innkeeper and his wife were very welcoming and often let her drink a little firewhiskey in the evenings even though she'd only just turned sixteen.

Yes, Minnie felt rather adult and proud of her independence as she shopped for new school robes. She'd just exited Madam Malkin's and was wondering whether she could be bothered buying her school books _right now_ when she heard her birth name from behind.

'Good afternoon, Williamina.'

Not bothering to turn around she said, 'I don't respond to that name, it's Minnie or Future Queen of everyone - your choice.'

Sirius laughed and Minnie turned but caught a glimpse of Thomas striding along the opposite side of the alleyway. She hesitated but said, 'I have to go – see you later!' and without awaiting a response from Sirius, Minnie dashes over the road to Thomas and fell into step next to him.

Surprised by how brazen she felt, Minnie said with a sniff, 'fancy seeing you here.'

Minnie didn't know exactly how Thomas would respond to seeing her but it wasn't this: Thomas looked at her without a hint of recognition, without an expression on his face, before he turned to look ahead and said nothing at all. Minnie stopped walking and fell behind. She felt rather confused, but even more so when she watched him lift his wand in a mechanical movement that reminded her of a puppet on a string.

'Confringo!' Thomas yelled in a voice barely his own as he pointed his wand at the second-hand bookstore near where Minnie stood, the one they had spent whole days together flirting last summer and a detached Minnie watched the whole building blow outwards.

Minnie felt like she'd been kicked in the chest. She couldn't see for all the dust and smoke. She couldn't breathe. Her ears were ringing. She was vaguely aware she was curled on her side.

'Minnie!' It sounded as though it was being said from a great distance, but Sirius was right there beside her. 'Are you okay? Are you hurt?'

She stared back, eyes wild, but all Minnie could think about was all the destroyed books, burned and wasted, their ashes raining down on them.

With surprising strength hidden in his lithe form, Sirius pulls her to her feet. Through the blur of her thoughts, Minnie mumbled, 'the Leaky Cauldron, that's where I'm staying – the Leaky Cauldron.' With shaking hands Minnie wipes the sweat off her forehead and was a little unsettled when her sleeve comes back sodden with blood.

Tom was waiting for them by the back entrance to the pub. He let them inside and then locked the doors and drew the blinds.

'Minnie! Lass, are you alright?! What happened? I felt it before I heard it – was it one of those Death Eaters?' Minnie stared back mutely.

'Tom, I'm going to need a Calming Draught and Essence of Murtlap - do you have them?' Sirius commanded and Minnie felt like giggling at the sight of seeing him so serious.

'Yes, of course, yes, here somewhere, ah! I know!' As Tom ran to find the necessary potions, Sirius helped Minnie into a padded armchair in the corner of the pub. When Tom returned with the potions, Sirius suggested he return to Diagon Alley to search for other victims who may need help. 'Yes, yes, the wife is at the ministry today, thankfully, but I'll check.' Tom said, very much looking like he didn't want to leave the safety of the bar.

Minnie watched Sirius move behind the bar. He came back with a bowl of warm water and a cloth, and two glasses of firewhiskey, each poured with a generous measure. He poured the Murtlap into the bowl of water and the calming draught into the glass of firewhiskey he handed Minnie, 'drink up.' Minnie sipped the amber fluid and marvelled as her hands stopped shaking and her almost hysterical breathing eased.

Minnie sat silently and watchful and Sirius downed his glass in one and set to work. He dabbed the warm damp cloth at the cuts on her arms with long, capable fingers. Pianist's fingers, she thought and so asked, 'do you play the piano?' without comprehending how out of the blue the question sounded to anyone not following her thoughts.

Sirius' eyes flicked to hers and away again. 'I can. Mother made me learn although playing never much interested me.' Minnie liked the way his right cheek had a dimple but not his left. She liked to watch the bow of his lips as he talked, the slight indentation of his fuller upper lip almost a natural pout. She realised he was waiting for her to say something.

Minnie cleared her throat but it still came out a raspy 'what?'

Sirius repeated with forced casualness, 'the man who blasted the book shop, did you know him?'

Minnie thought she did know Thomas, or had she been too infatuated to notice the red flags last summer? Was he just another Death Eater?

'He looked like he'd been Imperiused,' Sirius informed her.

'How could you tell?'

'The blanket expression he had when he looked at you.'

'You noticed that?'

He nodded slowly.

Sirius rinsed the cloth out in the bowl, the water was tainted pink with blood but he didn't seem to mind. He pulled Minnie's dark hair back to get to the cuts on her temple before wiping away the streaked blood down the side of her cheek and neck.

'You ran away from home so you wouldn't be forced to marry me, right?' The words were out before she could stop herself. She sat tight, wishing she could snatch those words from out of the air between them and pop them back in her mouth.

'Honestly?' Sirius' mouth twisted as he looked at her frankly, 'it was part of a larger problem I had at home - I had no freedom of choice in my Mother's house, no elbow-room to live my life any other way than the one she saw fit.' He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead he returned his attention to cleaning her neck.

Minnie closed her eyes and thought that she rather liked the feel of his cool fingers on her jaw holding her steady. She thought that maybe if she opened her legs a little she could just about imagine him standing between them. Blushing at the thought (damn her pale skin!) Minnie noticed all at once that there was no movement in front of her and she opened her wide eyes to see Sirius staring at her and breathing deeply, one hand still holding her jaw – his thumb on her cheek. He moved his face forward a little, watching for any indication from her that he might have misjudged the moment, before closing the gap.

She felt the slightest graze of his lips on hers when the pub door banged open and in flew Mather wife of Tom in innkeeper. Sirius immediately and fluidly stepped back, making it look as natural as can be.

'Oh darlings! I've just heard what happened! Look at you, you look a fright! Here, I'll make you a hot cuppa, that'll sort you right out!'

Minnie looked more stunned than she had when she'd been caught in the attack but Sirius tossed her a large grin, 'Thanks, but no thanks Martha, although I may be back later for a bowl of your fantastic casserole later.'

Minnie watched absentmindedly as he charmed the older woman, wondering how he managed to do that – turn women of all ages into putty.

'You are a good lad, Mister Black, looking after little Minnie like that.' Martha chatted away as Sirius stood in the doorway about to leave, the corner of his mouth twitching.

As soon as Martha turned her back, Sirius, with the sleeves of his shirt still rolled to his elbows and his hands in his pockets, threw Minnie a small smile and then left.

* * *

Sirius thought he knew what he wanted inside and out, but that day he had surprised himself. He had once felt distaste and contempt towards the girl handpicked by his Mother to be his betrothed. He felt her to be an extension of his Mother's vice-like grip on his early years, an attempt to pass him along from one overbearing, controlling woman to another.

But throughout their 5th year together, Sirius started to suspect he had been mistaken about Minnie and Sirius did not like to be wrong. Her warmth and cheekiness, the 'stick it to 'em' nature of her pure-blooded family and the value she placed in her friendships, all reminded him of qualities he appreciated in his best mate, James.

So he watched Minnie from a distance, looking for any aspect of her character that would prove his early opinion to be the correct one. But instead of finding an ambiguous individual, he found himself drawn to Minnie and the more he tried to shake her out of his head, the more adhered she became. Unsettled by his territorial, almost obsessive thoughts and the actions that followed the day he near-about kissed her, Sirius decided to fix it the only way he knew how, by seeking the comfort of a different female.

Not that Minnie knew any of this, of course. She wanted to hang around Diagon Alley (and potentially bump into Sirius again) but she had misgivings about staying in London following the attack. Call it good fortune or call it a fluke, but if she'd stayed at the Inn she'd have witnessed Sirius with his arm casually swung over the shoulders of Isla Reid, 5th year seeker of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as they strolled Diagon Alley and hung out at the Leaky Cauldron.

She also wouldn't know that he, already bored and disinterested after just a few short weeks of dating, tried to curb the desire to get wildly drunk every time Isla gazed up at him. She, smug and tittering, had already presented him to her parents like a shiny Quidditch cup or a parchment of perfect OWL marks.

* * *

Instead, however, Minnie spent the rest of her summer at her cousin's townhouse in Prague, photographing everyday wizarding life in Czechoslovakia. Such joy did Minnie get from walking the streets of an unknown city with her eye to the camera's viewfinder that she thought for the first time she might have an inkling of what she wanted to do with her life.

It was midway through her second week in Prague, as she spent a comfortable afternoon absorbed in using developing solution to animate her photographs, that she received a letter from an unknown owl. Her mind immediately flew to exam results, but she felt before she knew for sure, that the letter was from her brother, Charlie.

 _Minnie_

 _I hear from Professor McGonagall that you're doing well this year, despite all that's happened. I'm am fine – safe – and as soon as I can return, I will. I'll be in touch - best of luck with your OWL results!_

 _– Love Charlie._

And just like Charlie had awakened the exam gods, Minnie looked up to see another owl with an official scroll tidily wrapped around its claw.

With a sigh of relief, Minnie noted that her favourite core subjects such as Astronomy, Herbology, and Transfiguration had netted her Es and she even had an Outstanding in Charms. Like she suspected, she'd failed Defence with a measly Poor.

* * *

Minnie's first errand when back in London was to provide a witness statement for the attack on Diagon Alley. She found just venturing into the Ministry of Magic a very intimidating experience, but that was nothing compared to sitting in the Auror office, surrounded by menacing photos of convicts and Death Eaters.

The Auror in charge of questioning her was a rather young and nervous looking Hogwarts graduate. When she gave him her account, he confirmed what had Sirius said, that other accounts confirmed Thomas to be Imperiused and would be released later in the week.

Minnie was happy to see Thomas free, but she felt her time with him had come to an end, perhaps unfairly so, as the events that unfolded were not his fault. Minnie knew the reason he had stopped owling her was most likely due the Imperius Curse that he'd been controlled with and she wondered morbidly, of the other actions he was forced to do.

All these distractions were healthier for Minnie than she knew at the time. She had felt intoxicated after her almost kiss with Sirius and she was about to find things with him were quite different to how she left them.


	8. A change of heart

Returning to Hogwarts was a relief for many students and parents alike. While most families understood that the school's safety far surpassed that of their own homes, some found sending their children away in a time of terror much too difficult, and chose to keep them close and home-schooled – for better or worse.

Word had gotten around Hogwarts about Minnie's first-hand experience of the attack on Diagon Alley (Martha enjoyed relaying the story of Sirius' and Minnie's 'adventure' to any and all patrons that ventured into the Leaky Cauldron) and a few students wanted to discuss and dissect the episode with her – while others scoffed that she had been there at all.

Minnie sat opposite Anna at the Hufflepuff table and awaited the sorting. The gaggle of wee first years awaiting their sorting were fewer than she'd ever seen, their eyes rounder than the full moon rising that night as they took in the Great Hall. Minnie, her tummy grumbling, couldn't keep her eyes from flicking to Sirius' face across the room, but not a single glance was returned. If Minnie didn't think it absurd, she'd say Sirius was avoiding her.

Good thing Anna kept her in high spirits, the little details of each other's summer kept them gossiping and speculating throughout the entire train journey. Anna didn't quite know what to make of Minnie and Sirius when the story came gushing forth during their chocolate frog frenzy in the carriage (they bought sixteen each!). After all, Sirius was so aloof, so seemingly oblivious to the all the female attention he garnered that there was a pretty solid rumour floating around the school regarding him and Remus. But no, Anna knew the girl who started the fictitious tale to be a woman scorned – by Sirius himself.

Minnie on the other hand wore her heart on her sleeve, was warm and open and the tiniest bit naive, and rather prone to having her heart not just broken, but ruptured and mangled. Anna liked seeing Minnie blissfully happy and so she kept her opinions to herself.

Although, what happened next was one of those moments where a small nuisance saved Minnie from a greater embarrassment.

As the end of the feast drew to a close and sleepy, full-bellied students begun to make their way up to their dormitories and Minnie made to nonchalantly approach Sirius at the Gryffindor table to… ask about his summer? Discuss the attack? To simply say hello? She didn't get chance to decide when strong, booming voice called 'Minnie, my dear! What an eventful summer you've had!' and Minnie turned to see Professor Slughorn approach from the teachers table at the front of the hall.

Astounded to discover that Slughorn did in fact know her name (Milly was his usual go to in class) it was nothing compared to the bewilderment at the neat invitation he handed to her for the first (and usually lavish) Slugclub gathering of the year in late October. Minnie supposed he thought her 'interesting' for surviving the assault on Diagon Alley. She accepted in haste, eager to catch Sirius outside the Great Hall before he disappeared off the Gryffindor common room.

This little interruption, that lasted little more than a minute, saved Minnie from a face to face rejection, for as she approached the grand staircase, Minnie spotted Sirius snogging Isla Reid in the alcove of the grand staircase and felt the bubble of cheer she'd been carrying all summer puncture and deflate. The hands that had taken care of her, the lips that had skimmed hers were now on the skin of someone else, someone that wasn't her.

It was a little quick thinking by Anna, who pulled her away with a 'don't let him see you cry' and a middle finger in their direction that went unnoticed by either. Grateful for a sturdy friend like Anna, Minnie sobbed in front of the fireplace in their common room (luckily, the other students assumed another death in the family and not silly teenage heartbreak), and Anna, always resourceful, whipped up a quick sleeping draught, ('I wanted to try out my new cauldron anyway' she claimed).

The weeks followed in similar fashion and Minnie used all the secret passageways to her knowledge in a fairly successful attempt to avoid bumping into either of them. However, most of it was in vain since Sirius loathed public displays of affection, and anyway, he felt that Isla's job was done, Minnie had been dislodged from the pedestal in his mind – or so he thought.

Isla Reid was a bright witch - a Ravenclaw after all, and just as talented in the classroom as she was on the Quidditch pitch. But for all the brilliance, Isla failed to see she'd been exploited by Sirius. She was just a distraction to him, a balm to soothe the alarming infatuation he'd formed over Minnie. She certainly didn't expect him to pull her into the passageway behind the mirror on the fourth floor and dump her, coolly and efficiently, just like that, and she stood there, dumbfounded for minutes after he'd walked off.

Well, nobody got the better of Isla Reid and so she reported to Professor McGonagall the hex she saw Sirius and James throw that weird Snape boy on the train into school - not that she took issue with it at the time. When both boys were given detention for the following weekend she felt a wee bit better.

Elsewhere in the castle, in the Hufflepuff common room to be precise, Minnie had just seen the announcement on the noticeboard for the year's first Hogsmeade visit on October 13th – the upcoming weekend - and turned to excitedly tell Anna, only to find herself staring into the broad chest of 7th year student Oscar Brooks.

'Let me buy you a Butterbeer at the Three Boomsticks, eh?'

Minnie gawked for a second, sure that it was some kind of cruel joke, but the older boy seemed genuine - even nervously so. Minnie somewhat astonished, agreed.

Anna gaped, 'another boy! How are you doing this? Not a single person has asked me out – not including Tobias McGee who asked to feel up my tits, that doesn't count – and yes, you're perfectly delightful, Minnie, but where's my Prince Charming?'

'Prince who?'

'Never mind, you can set me up with one of his friends if it goes well, then all will be forgiven.'

(It will later transpire that Anna did in fact have an admirer this whole time. Another Hufflepuff boy in their year who frequently feigned misunderstanding the homework as an excuse to get Anna to explain it to him. Not the smartest approach (for a long time Anna suspected him to be a bit daft), but the shy and reserved Samuel Davies revealed the innocent ruse for her attention early the following year and when Anna finally stopped laughing, she kissed him, and then laughed some more.)

Minnie, although pleased to be asked out by Oscar (part of the ache of heartbreak, she thought, is feeling unwanted), would much rather stay away from all boys for the rest of the year – perhaps even 7th year as well! _I'll go out the once_ , she thought firmly, _then I'll stick with my dependable romance novels._

* * *

So here we have Minnie and Sirius, both determinedly steering clear of the other, both obviously enamoured one another. Neither sees the fondness they carry within themselves, let alone within the other person and so they both do nothing about it.

I could talk here about the folly of youth, of the stubbornness and pride of Sirius Black, or of the fragile teenage confidence of Minnie Fawley, but I won't.

Besides, they'll work it out on their own eventually, just wait and see.


	9. The north wind

October 13th dawned with a rare rose pink sky, the first but not last blush of the day. Minnie, entirely oblivious, had slept through it. She had awoken briefly at Anna's stern admonition that she needs to wake up now because she's missed breakfast and she'll miss her date too!

'Yeah, yeah, I'm awake.'

'Catch you after lunch and you can tell me all about Oscar's mate that you'll be setting me up with.' Anna said with a wink.

'Mmm, hmm' Minnie groaned into her pillow.

'You speak excellent English, use it.'

'Affirmative mumble.'

She heard Anna chuckle all the way out the dormitory and down the stairs. Minnie just wanted to close her eyes for just a minute longer until a somewhat conscious part of her brain registered that the light from the window warmed her face at entirely the wrong angle and that the school was quieter now.

All at once, she ripped off her patchwork quilt.

'Cunt!' Minnie swore with a hard bite down on the 't' - her watch told her it was 10.45am - all students who were going to Hogsmeade had to be out the door by 10.30 and Filch loved to refuse anyone even a minute late. It wasn't even worth trying to talk her way out the front door and was bound to make her actually late for her date at 11.30am. Thankfully, she knew of a little secret passageway out of the castle.

So, after a little makeup and artfully tossed hair (she wanted to look great – but not like she _tried_ to look great), Minnie made her way through the castle to the passageway behind the one-eyed witch which she knew would take her straight to Honeyduke's cellar.

She'd have to be careful not to be caught (she'd bet a case of chocolate frogs she'd lose all Hogsmeade privileges for the rest of her 6th year) but a shop full of Hogwarts students should keep the staff busy and distracted. Worst case scenario and she was caught where she shouldn't be, she'd blame an awry Confundus Charm.

Luckily, she snuck out the cellar without a hitch. She reckoned she could sneak back in the castle through the front gates too since Filch never recognised individual students, preferring to see them as one single entity conspiring to dirty his clean floors and bring banned goods into the school. So long as she did neither, she'd be fine.

Minnie had heard from Anna that not only had Sirius' and James' been given detention this weekend and were to miss Hogsmeade, but punishment was to be doled out by an irate Filch. _Tough luck, boys, s_ he thought.

Minnie had been so caught up with these thoughts on her way to the Three Broomsticks (she really shouldn't be quite so day-dreamy) that she neglected to notice a large, mangy black dog in her path until she nearly walked into him.

She looked down at the dog, the dog looked up at her and both seemed a tad bewildered find themselves in front of the other. Minnie hadn't seen a stray dog in Hogsmeade before.

'It's cold, don't you have somewhere to be?' She tilted her head to the side and the stray mimicked her. He seemed to be asking her the same.

'Okay,' Minnie tugged at his velvet ear with a smile, 'see you 'round, mutt.'

Minnie shouldered open the door to the Three Broomsticks, enjoying the warmth that hit her from the fireplace. The cosy and popular pub was even more crowded than normal and many resorted to drinking their Butterbeer standing due to lack of available seats.

Minnie saw Oscar before he saw her and she was about to call out to him when someone grasped her hand and tugged her into a tight corner of the pub.

At first, Minnie had thought Anna was the one to pull her aside - perhaps for one of her embarrassing pep talks. Instead she found herself backed into the wall and Sirius stood over her, tall, unfaltering, and just a fraction too close. Minnie said the first thing that came to mind.

'You're not supposed to be here.'

He visibly bristled. 'And what are you going to do about it?'

'Nothing. I'm going to do _nothing_ -' she shoved her hands at his chest but he didn't budge, 'about you. Because, I. Just. Don't. Care.' Minnie tried to make eye contact with someone else, but Sirius seemed have picked a good spot. Nobody will see him toy with her here, like a cat to a mouse.

'Is it a date?' Sirius growled.

'Is it your business?' Minnie threw back.

When Sirius said nothing, Minnie laughed – a hollow echo to mask the hurt felt from his callous actions in recent weeks.

'You're jealous! You who snogged Isla Reid, heartless to how I might feel and now that somebody else likes me you're suddenly interested again! I'm not your plaything and you don't get to do this to me, Black. Either you like me and you tell me, or you don't and you leave.'

Sirius stood, impassive and mute and then he went to walk away. Minnie had just enough time to exhale when without warning he turned, pushed his much larger body against her slighter one and tilted her face to meet his.

What occurred next, Minnie would have difficulty describing, but if she had to put it into words she'd say, _'it maddened and delighted and flustered and infuriated me!'_ And just when she thought she'd combust with all these emotions that NOBODY should feel en-masse, Sirius pulled away with a faint groan.

Feeling shy and exposed, with an urge to run out the door, Minnie didn't know what to say. She was undoubtedly furious, but she also knew she wasn't going anywhere either.

Rather than make a decision at that second, she scanned the crowd for Oscar, hoping he hadn't seen her but also sort of hoping he had. Minnie quickly spotted him flirting over the counter with the young and fresh-faced Rosmerta, so nothing to worry about there, apparently. She turned back to Sirius who was regarding her coolly, having just kissed her and then see her seek out another bloke.

'I believe you owe me a date to replace the one you just disrupted.' Minnie smiled wryly up at him and Sirius returned his own slightly crooked grin.

'That I do, but,' Sirius kissed one corner of her mouth, 'I have to get back to school, before,' he kissed the other corner, 'anyone notices I've disappeared.'

And just like the North Wind, Sirius left with a whistle and a cold gust through the pub door.


	10. Boys like him

**Author Note: Hello chapter 10! A big thank-you to those who took the time to review - it was much appreciated!**

 **I just want to quickly address the spelling of Williamina's name. Yes, the traditional spelling is Wilhelmina and probably more appropriate for an old pure-blooded family, but the modern variation of Williamina is the one I'm familiar with and I've decided to leave it as is.**

 **That's all! Carry on.**

* * *

Anna remained reserved when it came to Sirius – she knew exactly what boys like him were like and warned Minnie not to get too attached, calling her a 'rabbit to his snare - get too close, sweet girl, and perish.' Minnie reluctantly agreed and firmly told her it was just a fling, but deep down she knew she was in trouble.

Although Minnie soon discovered that succumbing to his charms would be less of an issue than first thought. You'd think two cunning teenagers would find it easy to sneak off together at night especially when holding a master map and an invisibility cloak. But between classes, homework, friends, separate houses and stricter curfews this year, the pair had barely touched since that fateful meeting in the corner of a noisy pub a few days prior. With one exception.

Minnie's free period on a Friday afternoon was always spent the same way: seeking a new romantic read at Hogwarts library. Madam Pince, as rigid as she seemed on the outside, liked to keep a steady influx of romance novels padding the shelves and Minnie took full advantage. It was leafing through the American Classic the Flap of the Cape by Abigail R. Cankus that Minnie heard a soft chuckle from behind.

'I much prefer Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts, but each to their own,'

A firm grip on her waist prevented Minnie from facing Sirius, followed by his chest to her back and his lips on her throat yielded a loud moan from Minnie…

Sirius quickly places his hand on her mouth to quieten her, their hearts thudding a complementary beat, but the damage had been done.

'A library!' screeched a wild Madam Pince, 'is not a place of pubescent explorations!'

They weaved between the shelves and out the door as some hefty books fell on them from above. They tried their best not to laugh lest they antagonise the prudish librarian.

'I thought librarians were _supposed_ to be closet deviants – I'm sure she and Filch get up to a few explorations of their own between the shelves,' Sirius added and Minnie laughed as they set off down the hall. 'I actually came to invite you to Sluggies party tonight, since I still owe you a date.'

Minnie, her own invitation long lost and forgotten said, 'you really don't like being indebted to me, do you Black? I'm half tempted to turn you down just to keep you where I like you – at my beck and call.'

Sirius barked the laugh she liked to hear more than any other sound and said, 'this may be your only chance for a while, reliable sources tell me that in the light of recent disturbances, Hogsmeade visits may be restricted until further notice. So it's now or never, Fawley.'

'Then I choose now.' Minnie said as she boldly tugged Sirius behind a suit of armour and pulled his face down to hers. It would have been a success if Peeves the Poltergeist hadn't picked that moment to heckle them.

'Mister big Black head who thinks he's so serious,' Peeves sung atonally and pulled a ridged and arrogant expression that Minnie would have found hilarious had she not been so mortified. 'Has found himself another delicate damsel to torment! Peevsie wonders how long this one will last!'

Sirius pulled Minnie down the hallway and even as Peeve's gleeful singing became distant, Minnie remained quiet and Sirius felt embarrassed.

They parted on stiff terms, agreeing to meet outside of Slughorn's office where the party was held at 8pm.


	11. Illuminated

At 8.19pm Minnie was still waiting for Sirius. She could hear the music from Slughorn's party swell out through the door and a few other students had ogled her as she lingered out in the hallway.

8.20 was her cut off time. If he wasn't here in the next few seconds,she thought, she'd head in on her own. Minnie stood that way for a at least a few more minutes, not looking at her watch so she could pretend that time wasn't steadily marching on.

When too much time had passed for Sirius to just be running late, Minnie and her heavy heart finally joined the party. A tiny female house-elf accepted her invitation at the door and led her into Slughorn's office – except it looked nothing like it.

Partial to his house colours, Slughorn had decorated his party in green – from the table clothes to the lime hued flames in the candelabras. It looked a bit gaudy, but Slughorn had obviously gone to much effort. There must have been about 30 other 'exclusively invited' guests, some students of various houses and years, a few teachers – like her astronomy teacher, Professor Sinistra, as well as guests Minnie hadn't seen in the castle before.

The only other student Minnie knew was fellow 6th year Lily Evans, who was also without a date, but chatting animatedly to Slughorn. Minnie thought Lily a kind soul, although found her an intimidatingly talented witch.

As Minnie approached she could hear Slughorn boasting about an ex-member of the Slugclub who had recently been awarded an Order of Merlin, but her thoughts were still on Sirius.

Had Peeves inadvertently revealed Sirius' motive? Is he, at this very moment, with another Isla Reid wannabe? She thought, a _m I too trusting?_

'Minnie, my dear!' Slughorn clapped his hands together. 'Do remind me to put you in touch with Maverick Hatman, a photographer for the daily prophet. Sprout tells me you're quite talented with a camera!'

'Oh, wow! That would be fantastic!' Minnie grinned ear to ear, thinking at least the night wasn't a complete waste.

'Think nothing of it,' Slughorn said, but clearly wanted the opposite so Minnie giggled.

'Hey!' Sirius was at her side, a voice low in her ear. 'Sorry, I'm late.'

'It's fine.' Minnie feigned indifference while Lily regarded them with shrewd interest. It occurred to Minnie that they'd managed to keep their budding relationship a relative secret until now. It looked like that would change tonight, as Minnie noticed a few sharp glances from the female student body.

'Mister Black! You finally made it to one of my little gatherings! Your brother is here too, you'll be happy to hear.' Slughorn said to a decidedly unhappy Sirius.

'Huh.' Was his response.

When Slughorn continued his conversation of famous names with Lily, Sirius pulled Minnie aside. Slughorn's desk had been pushed against the wall to make room for the guests and with a quick glance and a smirk at his potions professor, Sirius sat on Slughorn's desk, patting the space beside him for Minnie. She rolled her eyes and hopped up next to him – Sirius took any opportunity to push the boundaries.

'Look,' he said, a hand sweeping his hair out his eyes, 'kind of a long story here, but I'd forgotten that I'd told James I would take him to this party as my guest. He wanted to ask Evans out for the 1842nd time, so instead we decided he'd come in the door under invisibility cloak,' he takes a deep breath, 'but, the fates would have it that we met Snivellus on the way here, holding an invitation we knew wouldn't be his own – probably to talk to Lily at this party also - and James was having none of that bull, so we hexed him.' Sirius grinned at her. 'I was worried you might have left, but instead I arrive to find you smiling.'

Minnie grinned back, her irritation evaporated. 'Next time I'll lock you in my trunk between social events and feed you naught but owl treats,' and Sirius barked his laugh.

'James is in here somewhere – probably sniffing an unsuspecting Evan's hair-' Minnie snorted into her champagne, 'waiting until everyone is too drunk to notice he wasn't actually invited before taking off the invisibility cloak.'

They grinned at each other for a little longer than normal and Sirius linked his fingers loosely though her own. 'You still have freckles from summer.' He said, indicating the flecks across the bridge of Minnie's nose. He reached over and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Minnie wrinkled her nose in response but her words were lost under the intensity of his expression. She didn't think anybody had ever looked at her quite like that.

'Mother will be pleased.' Both Sirius and Minnie started at the sound and looked up to see Regulus standing over them. Sirius ever so slightly leaned forward, as if to position himself between Regulus and Minnie.

Sirius rolled his eyes. 'Mother is never pleased. Minnie – my brother Regulus, the son my mother wished I was.'

'Hello,' Minnie squeaked. Regulus was a bit slighter than Sirius but shared many of the same aristocratic features. The biggest contrast between the two brothers were in the eyes; Sirius' were sharp and playful, while Regulus' were hooded and shadowed.

Regulus, a haughty look in those hooded eyes, said 'at least you're not fucking a filthy muggle girl this time,' and not a second had passed when Regulus was suddenly and violently thrown sideways to the floor. Minnie guessed that he'd been shouldered by an invisible James and she outwardly joined Sirius in laughter, but inwardly she thought, _what muggle girl?_

Regulus whipped out his wand and Sirius had his own out almost as fast.

'There is enough fighting in the world, boys, without brother attacking brother!' Slughorn hollered and promptly had them all kicked out by a man who could have easily been half-troll.

Out in the hallway Minnie and Sirius silently watched Regulus' retreating figure. Sirius reached for her hand and began to speak about what he knew was on Minnie's mind.

'It was what got me disowned. Regulus discovered me with a muggle girl in a park.' Sirius avoided her eyes. 'My mother was livid, she'd been furious with me for a few years now, but that really was the ride that broke the broomstick. I was disowned – although it was the best thing my mother ever did for me. Never saw the girl again though.' He said with a shrug. 'Are you okay?'

The question Sirius asked extended far beyond that of the conversation. He was saying: this is me, these are my issues, this is my past, are you okay with it?

Minnie knew that dating Sirius was never going to be a smooth ride. She liked that though, the chaos and energy and spontaneity, but she found it difficult to sleep that night. She wondered about the girls who came before her, who were probably all incredible ladies, yet none could keep this man. But here she was, thinking she's different.

Minnie rolled over in bed, seeking warmth.

Then there was Regulus. She knew Sirius had tried to patch up their relationship recently, but the way the brothers spoke to one another with barely cloaked animosity – was it a lost cause?

Minnie supposed it wasn't easy to have a brother like Sirius Black.


	12. The one that came before

None of what happened between Sirius and the muggle girl had been planned.

Over the Christmas holidays of 1975 when Sirius had been freshly 16 and restless, he spent as much time out of his parents' house as possible. He met the girl in a park near to Grimmauld Place where he spent whole days just sitting on a bench, looking at the snow on his dragon-hide boots and letting the cold sting his exposed face. He knew that the muggle mothers who visited the park had warned their children to stay away from him, that they whispered among themselves that he's 'probably an addict and homeless,' but they never approached him or offered help.

He might have spent the whole Christmas like that if it weren't for a friendly Labrador and a friendlier teenage girl. She told him that her _little pup Sandy doesn't usually like males, and if she likes him then he must be alright_. Sirius smirked at the thought that her pet had probably picked up on his own dog-ish smell.

Sirius could tell from the way the muggle girl eyed him that she found him attractive. At first he saw her as a way to snub his parent's ideals, fraternising with the enemy as it were, but he eventually came to like her bubbliness, even if she talked a little too much. He learned a lot about her and she none about him, but he preferred it that way anyway. They met in the park daily, taking walks together or sharing the flask of coffee she often brought.

It was cold in the park, but the temperatures made for an easy excuse to touch each other often and then to kiss, as warm bodies heated the icy hands of the other. One evening - when the park was empty - they'd gotten a little carried away and while still mostly clothed, they'd had sex.

Sirius was still panting into the girl's shoulder, his foggy breath stirring her blonde hair, when he heard a twig snap and saw the flick of a coat out of the corner of his eye. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that the person was likely Regulus and now he'd run back home to report Sirius' depraved activities to mother. Sirius delayed returning home as long as he could and wandered the bleak icy streets of inner London.

Just before midnight, Sirius attempted to slip back in the house unnoticed but Kreacher sounded the alarm. He flew up the stairs and into his bedroom and threw his belongings into his trunk as his mother hounded him with shrieks of 'befouling her name and consorting with filth!'

Sirius pushed past his mother and down the hall where he found Regulus with a smirk on his pale face. Sirius, tempted to punch him, strode on towards the front door and out of his mother's house for the very last time. Or so he thought.

* * *

The day after Slughorn's party was the day Minnie learned just how fast gossip flew at Hogwarts. From the handful of students invited to the gathering, hundreds now speculated on her love life and she often noticed groups of girls eyeing her down whereas before she'd gone unseen. A few female students just plain _refused_ to believe Sirius Black was dating Hufflepuff student Williamina Fawley.

'It's bollocks!' One tall 6th year Gryffindor hotly exclaimed. 'What would a boy like Sirius – who could have any girl, ANY GIRL - see in someone who seems so…' she trailed off, searching for a way to be diplomatic as well as nasty.

'Meek,' her fellow long legged friend replied. The two girls had spent much time in the last few years discussing what Sirius' perfect girl would be. She would HAVE to be a Gryffindor, they both agreed, someone fiery and unruly who could keep him on his toes, confident with a sharp wit, and of course, stunning (obviously, the other said). The two girls had both forgotten the age old adage that opposites attract.

At breakfast Isla Reid asked her how many love potions she used on Sirius as she strutted past the Hufflepuff table. Minnie grinned at Anna and said, 'all of them!'

At lunch Lily warned her away from Sirius, she'd grown up with those boys and told Minnie she could do better, that he wasn't worth the trouble 'and that boy is Trouble with a capital T.'

Before she even made it to dinner, she had received a rolled scroll with an official seal from a nervous third year girl.

'~Ooooh, a love note from Sirius Black~!' Anna chimed, 'read it out loud then!'

'It's from Slughorn, actually,' Minnie replied. 'I have a detention at 4pm today down in the dungeons! Why? I didn't even do anything at Sluggies party!' Minnie huffed. 'I'm going to go down and contest it.'

* * *

When Minnie made her way down to the dungeons later that day she was fuming. She did not want her professors assuming that she was going to be a trouble maker just because she's now dating Sirius. Minnie had never had a detention in all the years she'd been at Hogwarts and wasn't going to start now. _Why didn't Slughorn say anything to me in Potions class this morning_ , she wondered?

Taking the stairs at a run, Minnie barged into a couple of first years, 'sorry!' She called behind her.

When she reached the classroom she threw open the door with a little too much energy and it rebounded off the wall. Sirius was leaning against an upside down cauldron at the front of the classroom.

'You're in detention too then? The fuck is this about?!'

Sirius flipped his head back and laughed. 'You certainly do not talk like a well-bred woman. Not that I'm complaining.' Sirius lazily approached and placed a slow, attentive kiss on Minnie's soft lips. Minnie wondered how he became so good at snogging, was it intuitive or by practise?

'There's no detention Min, I was just curious about how naive you are.' Sirius mumbled against her mouth, 'and now I'm curious about how innocent you are.' She could feel him grin against her lips and his hand skimmed over her breast.

With a warm blush on her cheeks Minnie, chose not to respond. Sirius, bright as ever, didn't require an answer. 'Not even in the roomy broomstick closet on the 7th floor?'

Minnie grimaced. It wasn't that she thought herself prudish, in fact, she loved that women these days are promoting free love without all the social stigmas that are often attached. She also found Sirius very attractive, not just in his appearance but in his posture and mannerisms (like when he wrinkled his nose right before he laughed) or the heady, almost earthy smell of his skin.

What actually held Minnie back was not that he'd think her easy, but that she might not be any good when compared to some of the girls she knew Sirius had been with. She didn't dare say any of this of course and let Sirius come to the 'catch all' conclusion that she was just not ready yet.

Sirius would never have guessed that what held her back sexually was simple shyness. If he knew that, he'd have invited her over to his dorm and handed her a Butterbeer, or maybe shared a joint with her. He didn't know this though and instead put it down to modesty, thinking there hadn't been a girl yet who's not succumbed to his charms sooner or later and it was usually sooner.

You can't blame a seventeen-year-old boy for fixating on sex, as he, like most boys his own age, thought he pretty much invented it.


	13. Never crass

Minnie usually loved Hogwarts at Christmas, the massive pine trees were almost bowed under the weight of the decorations and the food was always hearty and comforting. This year however, Minnie didn't much notice any of it. She couldn't think beyond the tattered state of her family. Her brother was in hiding, unable to return home and this time last year was the very last time she saw her parents alive. Dispirited, she'd resigned herself to spending the holidays at Hogwarts.

Anna's offer of remaining at Hogwarts over Christmas to keep Minnie company was met with a firm no. 'You have to cherish the opportunities you get to see your family, while you still get them,' but she was touched nonetheless. Instead, Anna gave her an early Christmas present as well as the firmest, longest hug of her life.

Sirius continued to surprise her. She thought she'd kept her despair well hidden, not wanting to spoil the cheerful spirit of those around her, but not much escaped his notice. If Sirius had asked Minnie if she wanted him to stay with her over Christmas, she'd have also told him no. But he wasn't one to ask for permission.

It was a frosty Friday morning – the last Friday of term in fact – when Sirius casually mentioned to Minnie that he won't be spending Christmas with the Potters that year.

The two were trudging through the snow at the border of the Forbidden Forest for their Herbology lesson, in search of trees used to craft wands so they can write down their identifying features. It was the only shared class that Minnie and Sirius paired up for. The other class that Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors took together was Defence against the Dark Arts, but Minnie didn't take Defence at N.E.W.T. level.

Sirius had spent their morning discussing James' chances at winning the cup this year, of Remus and the Ravenclaw girl he liked but had refused to ask out, of Peter getting caught out of bed on his way to the kitchens even though he had both the map and the invisibility cloak, and Minnie said little, laughed when required, but was otherwise distracted.

The pair were standing below an ash tree and Minnie was jotting down the characteristics on her parchment, when Sirius said, 'I'm staying here over Christmas this year. Thought I'd give the Potters a bit of space, y'know? James' parents are getting on these days so it'll be good for them to have some extra time alone together.'

Minnie, her chin tucked into her thick yellow and black scarf blinked up at him. She hadn't told him she was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. She didn't want his sympathy and she certainly didn't want him to offer to remain behind like Anna did. _He really has a knack to knowing what he oughtn't,_ Minnie thought.

'Is that actually the reason? Or are you staying out of pity for me? Because if it's the latter, I'd rather be here on my own.'

Sirius looked rather hurt and Minnie sighed. She hadn't meant to be so harsh but her emotions were bubbling so close to the surface these days, that they often boiled over without warning.

'Sorry.' She mumbled. 'I didn't mean it. Stay if you like.'

Sirius looked like he wanted to walk off and his face had that closed off look that Minnie knew meant he was pissed. But instead he moved and wrapped his arms around her from behind, and she leaned into his body heat. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he said simply. 'My wand is crafted from ash wood.'

Minnie mumbled the old rhyme, 'rowan gossips, chestnut drones, ash is stubborn, hazel moans.'

'Hmm. Because those wands can't be used by any other witch or wizard besides the original owner. They'll never work the same.'

'Ash is stubborn.' Minnie repeated.

Sirius deftly yanked Minnie's wand out of her coat pocket. 'Let's see. Hazel, I believe.' He sidestepped away from Minnie's attempt to snatch back her own wand. 'Prone to unpredictable magic when its owner is angry or upset.' A red jet of sparks flew out the wand and over Sirius' shoulder and he laughed. 'However, the wand is capable of outstanding magic,' he said as he handed it back. 'And is so loyal, the wood will wilt at the end of its master's life, therefore rendering it useless to anyone else.'

Minnie re-pocketed her wand. 'Ash is stubborn.'


	14. Everlasting

Six, seven, eight, nine. Minnie counted out the remaining students at Hogwarts at breakfast of the first day of the school holidays. Sirius loped through the door and swung himself neatly on to the bench next to Minnie at the Hufflepuff table.

'Can you believe it?' Sirius exclaimed. 'Not one other Gryffindor has remained at Hogwarts this Christmas! It's just me! The first thing I'm doing this morning is levitating my bed down into the common room and plonking it next to the fireplace for the next two weeks.'

'Ah, lucky you! I have two 4th year girls in my house and they've never been taught the difference between indoor and outdoor voices.' Minnie grimaced. 'They'll be gossiping, doing each other's hair, having pillow fights in their knickers…'

Sirius laughed and then hesitated for a fraction before saying, 'come join me in Gryffindor, you're more than welcome to show me your own nude pillow fighting prowess's.' He said it with a playful smirk but Minnie noticed a hint of genuine interest in those sharp eyes.

'Only if you show me yours first.' Minnie countered

'You'll show me yours if I show you mine. Sounds fair.' Sirius agreed.

Minnie laughed and then accidentally snorted making herself laugh harder. Sirius laughed at Minnie in hysterics and unintentionally knocked a glass of pumpkin juice onto her bacon and scrambled eggs which caused Minnie to fall sideways onto the bench and laugh so much that she began to silently squeak.

* * *

When Minnie entered Gryffindor common room later that day she found Sirius was true to his word and had brought his bed down from the dormitory and sat it square in front of the fireplace. He had also left great scrapes down the stair walls, 'turns out, trying to get an angular bed frame down a spiral staircase isn't the easiest thing in the world.'

Minnie spent every evening in the lead up to Christmas in Gryffindor common room with Sirius. She had gradually loosened up around him, as his quirks and flaws revealed him to be entirely human after all. His easy banter and cheeky nature kept her giggling most days, and she didn't know how she thought him to be so arrogant in the first place.

* * *

Christmas eve is one of the most enchanting days of the year, don't you think? Like it has a magic of its own that has nothing to do with wizarding magic, although there are some rather obscure branches of magic and maybe this day is one of them. All we know is on this night, Minnie decided that she would let Sirius all the way in. She would let him lead her like a sailor to a siren - without resistance or fear, and even though she knew it would be the end of her, she felt calm.

She didn't know quite why Christmas eve was the date chosen to give up her virginity and not last week, or next month, or any other date at all. Perhaps this particular date of the year had exercised its pull over her. Perhaps she had just slowly overcome her shyness and intimidation around Sirius. Perhaps she just craved relief from the fire inside her and she succumbed the way we all do eventually.

Sirius was never pushy with her, but I don't think I need to tell you that. While he liked to push the boundaries a little when in proximity with her body (forbidden fruits were Sirius' favourite form of nourishment) he'd respected her reluctance - admired her even and so he had little knowledge of her body under her school robes. Instead for the last few weeks, Sirius would work out his frustrations on the rare occasion he had any privacy in his dormitory.

If any students (or teachers for that matter) had entered Gryffindor common room around 7.30 that night they'd have found Minnie on Sirius' bed, completely disrobed and exposed, displaying her small rounded breasts and hips - her body smooth and young and the littlest bit plump in the most pleasant of ways. Sirius, however had remained fully attired in his usual casual wear – a white t-shirt and fitted black jeans, preferring to hold all the cards in their little power play.

If anyone had entered at 7.45 (and there really was no way to lock the portrait hole from the inside – but Sirius liked the risk), they'd have witnessed Sirius writing his name on the inside of Minnie's thigh. His hands holding her legs parted while the nib of his quill scratched at the sensitive skin. He had taken his time with this sweet torture, lazily dipping his quill in the ink pot between each letter and ensuring his penmanship was perfection.

Minnie squirmed as the intertwined pain and pleasure became overbearing, but unyielding hands kept her still. She was sure he must know how much she craved the relief that only he could provide, preferring to make her wait for it.

7.50pm saw Sirius admire his work, then swiftly pull his shirt forward over his head. He maintained eye contact with her as he unhurriedly unbuttoned his jeans, his posture relaxed and slightly cocky and while he no longer held her body still, she was powerless to move. For the first time this evening, she felt nervous, so she focussed on the breadth of his shoulders, watched the rolling motion of his muscles as he unclothed and the way his hair fell into his eyes. In one swift motion he dragged her by the hips towards him.

At 8pm Sirius was murmuring in Minnie's ear, nibbling at her earlobe, calming her – preparing her. He eased himself in, slowly but surely and Minnie scrunched her pink cheeked face into his shoulder as he took the last little bit of innocence she had left in the world.

* * *

Minnie woke slowly, feeling herself rise up through the layers of consciousness as her brain took stock of last night's events. She felt a little bruised and tender on the inside and fingertips on her mouth revealed slightly swollen lips from where Sirius had been a little rough.

Sirius, beside her, was out to the world. With his limbs askew and his expression relaxed, he looked vulnerable – just like she'd seen him in the library that evening, a lifetime ago.

He stirred at that second – as if he instinctively knew when he was being watched. They held gazes and she blushed at how intimately he now knows her – more so than any other human being besides herself. He raised his body and kissed her with a grin.

'Merry…Christmas…' She murmured between those all-encompassing kisses.

'Oh yeah!' Sirius bent over the base of the bed and began lobbing presents back to her. 'Looks like the house-elves weren't too concerned about us being down here.'

Minnie blushed at the idea of a couple of innocent little house-elves witnessing them in a state of undress and Sirius, catching sight of her face, laughed.

'Why don't you take a shower and get dressed. We can open the presents later.' He was grinning from ear to ear and looked like he was holding back a private joke.

In the girls' shower, Minnie spent a few minutes feeling wonderfully cheerful. The previous night went as well as she could have hoped and she wondered if she was any different now. Would she walk or talk differently? Would people be able to tell?

 _I feel the same_ , Minnie thought as she absentmindedly rubbed at the ink on the inside of her thigh. The ink, however, remained stubbornly attached to her skin – it wasn't even running. Rubbing harder just irritated her skin. Minnie took to it with soap, refusing to listen to the words floating into her head. _He wouldn't write on me with everlasting ink. Would he?_

Turning off the water and drying herself quickly, she threw on some clothes, Minnie suspected she would need full use of her wand hand this morning. With her hair wet and unruly, she ran back down the spiral staircase and into the common room.

'Sirius…' Minnie said, a low growl to her voice but Sirius was already out of his seat, hopping over the back of the couch, putting space between them. 'You did not write on me in everlasting ink, because if you did-' Minnie pulled her wand out and in a single stroke had the couch slide violently to the side of the room.

'Let me explain, Min. It's not everlasting ink, it's called bonding ink-' Sirius looked panicked. He didn't have his wand on him – it was lying uselessly on the floor by the fireplace.

'And what is _bonding_ ink?' Minnie asked through gritted teeth.

'It's a semi-permanent ink. It lasts as long as we do. And by that I mean, we as a couple.'

Minnie heaved a sigh and sank onto a nearby armchair. 'Why didn't you just ask?'

Sirius twitched a lop-sided shrug. 'It… would have ruined the moment?'

Minnie ran her fingers through her wet hair. 'I'll have to get Madam Pomfrey to remove it.' Although she really didn't want to have _that_ conversation with the prim and strict hospital matron.

'Or you could just leave it. Nobody will see.'

Minnie looked at Sirius and chewed on the inside of her cheek. 'At least you have decent handwriting. At least you didn't _scrawl_ your name on me.'

* * *

The following six months passed like a fantasy of Minnie's own creation. Surely she must have stepped into someone else's charmed world? It was like someone had taken an iron to the fabric of her life and smoothed out the wrinkles.

In January, Minnie and Sirius had midnight snacks in the kitchen, willing away the cold with hot cocoa. They squeezed snowball fights out of February. March saw Sirius inherit from his uncle Alphard. April finally brought hints of Spring. May was all too quickly followed by June. June delivered a long awaited letter.

 _Minnie,_

 _I really hope you're doing well. There is so much to tell you, but I won't do it in writing. I'll meet you at King's Cross at the end of term. It's finally safe for you to come home._

 _Love, Charlie and Cecilia._

Minnie was exuberant. She was going home, she was going to spend time with her family again. Minnie showed Anna the letter and her friend was pleased for her.

'I was kind of worried for you for a bit there. I'd actually asked mum if you could spend the summer holidays with my crazy muggle family – I'm sure you thought your last summer was exciting, but this one would have been something else.'

Minnie expected a similar response from Sirius, but instead he remained quiet, his brows knitted as he read and re-read Charlie's letter. When he finally handed it back to her, he said, 'ask him why he thinks it's safe now.'

'What? What do you mean?'

Sirius hesitated, not wanting to ruin her good spirits. 'The Death Eaters are still out there, still looking for blood traitors. It's not any safer now than it was a year ago.'

Sirius looked at her, sorrowfully, knowingly.

'Be careful, Min.'


	15. Written on the wall

It was back on platform 9 and 3/4s that Minnie saw her brother for the first time in over 18 months, and he looked much worse for wear. Gaunt, tired and sickly pale, Charlie looked a shadow of his former self.

She turned to Sirius and found him wearily eyeing Charlie. He put on a smile for her and pulled her into a hug. 'Owl me,' he said, 'keep me in the loop. Anything that seems out of place or unusual, tell me, okay?' Sirius pulled back to look at her. 'Keep your wand on you all the time.'

'Okay, okay,' Minnie jostled him, laughing. 'And tell me about your flat when you get it, alright? I want to hear all about your _bachelor pad_.' When he grinned she poked his dimple with the pad of her finger.

Minnie wandered over to meet her brother and greeted him with a hug.

Charlie had a strange look on his face. 'The Black boy? You're friends with him now?'

'Yes.' Minnie avoided eye contact.

'I seem to remember… err, you and he didn't exactly see eye to eye at one point.'

'Yes.' She said again. What else could she say?

With a shrug Charlie said, 'you must be able to disapparate by now?'

'I can, actually.' Minnie said proudly. She'd passed the test just a few months ago although she much preferred the floo network.

Focussing on the bedroom she'd grown up in, Minnie turned on the spot and tried her best to ignore the discomfort of feeling squeezed by a thousand rubber bands.

With a pop, Minnie landed on her bed. Her old bed. She flopped her head back onto the pillows and felt overcome with memories of growing up here. Of her mother rousing her from sleep each September 1st, of her dad smoking a pipe while he read the Daily Prophet.

Charlie popped his head around the corner. 'Want tea?'

'Sure.'

Minnie wandered down the hall. She'd wondered if she would ever find herself back here. The house was so quiet, so empty.

'Where's Cecilia?' Minnie called from the living room.

'Running errands.'

'Charlie?'

'Hmm?' Charlie blew his long blond curls out of his face as he brought her a mug of hot tea. His hair had become overgrown while in hiding.

'I don't think you should have come back home.' Charlie didn't respond so Minnie continued. 'You don't actually think that you're safe now, do you? Those people, those Death Eaters that killed mum and dad, they're still out there, seeking muggle-borns and blood traitors like us. Word will get around that you're back in London, they'll come back for you – and for me.'

Charlie listened to her talk and when it was his turn to speak he still said nothing. Instead he stood and pulled a scroll from the top of the dusty bookshelf. Wordlessly, he unrolled the old and yellowing parchment across the table until it hit the floor with a dull thud. It must have been at least six feet in length.

'This is a magically binding contract for an arranged marriage. The exact contract that dad signed between the Black family and ours back in 1960.' Charlie was still looking at her oddly.

'What's wrong? What's happened?'

'Min,' Charlie hesitated for a second, 'a few weeks ago, a goblin named Borlak tracked me down. He is a legal representative of the Black family and he _advised_ me, as your guardian, to read the contract myself.' Charlie took a deep breath as Minnie circled her fingertip around the black family crest stamped at the top corner of the contract. 'There's a clause here that states _if either Sirius Black or Williamina Fawley should die, be disowned, or in some way be unfit to wed (see clause 7b) the party at fault shall provide a replacement considered to be of equal or superior standing (see clause 13d) to uphold the merits of the original agreement._ They've offered Regulus.'

'What?' Minnie croaked. 'I don't understand. They've offered Regulus – what?'

'They've offered Regulus as a replacement in the arranged marriage. When he turns 17 – in about 14 months – you'll be bound to be his wife. I've read the fine print twice over and every loop hole is sealed. My hands are tied, Min, you know what happens if you break a magical contract outside the specified allowances. You'd be dogged by bad luck until you eventually met your demise within the year – you both would.'

Minnie picked at a loose thread in her robes.

'If you accept, we'll always be safe. The Black family will use their contacts within the Death Eater organisation to ensure we'd be left alone. No more worrying, no more fear.'

Minnie, her mind spinning, went to speak but Charlie held up his hand.

'There's something else. Cecilia's pregnant.'

A weak smile broke out on Minnie's pale face. 'Congrats.'

'Thanks,' he softly replied.

'Why don't you disown me too? Like Walburga did with Sirius. He's out of the contract now – and we can offer a distant cousin up as a replacement for me - Ethel is always complaining about her marriage prospects!' Minnie laughed, relieved at having found an easy solution.

'Not only would you be giving up the family fortune, you'd also be putting yourself and your family in danger. They don't take kindly to people turning their backs on their pure-blooded families.'

When Minnie looked adamant that she'd find a way out, Charlie sighed. 'Min, there's still time. Fourteen months before anything is required of you. Weigh up your options. Get to know Regulus – give the boy a chance to prove himself! You know as well as anyone what it's like to be unfairly judged. If you still want to be legally disowned, we'll do it at the end of your seventh year, then Cecilia and I have time to make a plan before we go on the run again.'

Minnie looked up into Charlie's tired brown eyes and agreed with her head but not her heart.


	16. She is mine

Minnie thought she knew Sirius pretty well these days, but she did not know how he would respond to the news that his girlfriend was engaged to be married to his brother. Not well, she presumed.

Both dreading and longing to tell to Sirius about this most unfortunate turn of events, Minnie wrote him a long winded letter explaining everything. And then delayed sending it, telling herself she'd send it tomorrow, she'd send it next week, preferring to write niceties about the weather or chatting about Charlie and his expecting wife. A small, insecure part of Minnie worried that Sirius would drop her. That when faced with choosing between his new girlfriend or his brother, he'd stay loyal to his kin.

In fact, Minnie may not have told Sirius at all (he didn't _need_ to know right now, did he?) if he hadn't mentioned Regulus himself.

 _Minnie,_ (her name in Sirius' familiar handwriting always gave her goose bumps)

 _I'm pleased to hear about your brother's good news in a time like this - pass on my congratulations!_

 _I have just a small piece of good news and a fair bit of bad. James has been made head boy this coming year (dunno how the sonofabitch did it!) and with his badge came a letter from Dumbledore beseeching caution around the castle's known Death Eaters and included a handful of names to watch for, to ensure the safety of the other students. And Minnie, Regulus was on that list!_

 _He's not just my stupid, foolish brother anymore, now he's dangerous._

 _Sirius._

And Minnie cried. She cried until her cheeks felt raw and it hurt to blink. Then she owled the letter she'd dawdled over for weeks, the one that told Sirius that she was now locked into a magically bound marriage contract with his very own brother.

One day passed. Then two. Then a week. Her rather reliable owl Tigg hadn't returned and Minnie guessed the little owl was waiting at Sirius' to collect the return letter. But then Tigg came back without a letter and her owl looked rather irked.

On August 31st Minnie felt sick with nerves. It was the day before she was due to return to Hogwarts and she hadn't heard from Sirius for several weeks. She didn't know if she hadn't heard from him because he didn't want to see her anymore, or because something horrible had happened to him. Both were equally horrible and Minnie got through the day by drinking copious amounts of tea and easily as much chocolate.

* * *

That night Minnie awoke suddenly from an uneasy sleep to a light rap on her window. At the balcony glass door Sirius stood with his hands gracefully looped into his pockets and a wide grin on his face.

When Minnie flung open the door with a question at her lips, Sirius proudly said, 'I've charmed the bike to fly,' with a slight nod towards a large gleaming motorbike that sat slick and intimidating on her little balcony.

And Minnie, relieved beyond measure even to see Sirius, wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his shoulder. She breathed deeply into his cool leather jacket, smelling faintly of engine oil and whiskey.

She pulled away to look at him but Sirius had other ideas. Within seconds he had his mouth on hers, his hand under her shirt and cupping her breast, his knee between her thighs and her warm back against the cool, smooth glass of the balcony door.

That night, Sirius claimed Minnie as his own once more, a woman he considered to be his possession just as keenly as he felt possessed by her, and at the mercy of her whims and desires. There was a desperate and frenzied element in their intimacy. They both felt the universe conspiring against them, striving to separate them one way or another.

So Sirius and Minnie fought back at the unfairness they felt at this cruel twist of fate. A wild and determined Minnie bit Sirius' shoulder with more violence than intended, and Sirius thrust into Minnie as though to leave his mark on her, as though to say _she is mine._

* * *

Afterwards, when both were calm, Minnie asked feebly, 'what do we do?' and Sirius, for once in his life, didn't have a good answer. He'd passed the last few weeks taking long rides on his shiny new bike, trying to solve their problem. He knew the contract inside and out, having spent his third and fourth year trying to figure out the easiest way to annul it for his own sake.

The obvious answer was to have Minnie disowned from her family, to be cast aside just like he was, but Regulus had become unstable in recent years, well on his way to mania and they would do well to steer clear of him. _He's going mad just like dear cousin Bellatrix_ , Sirius thought distractedly. He himself should watch out, his family seemed to be prone to fits of insanity.

As much as Sirius needed to have Minnie free from Regulus' spiteful hands, he knew that for Minnie to be disowned now, while she was still at Hogwarts, was to invite the wrath of Regulus' Death Eater pals and Sirius wouldn't always be around to protect her.


	17. Bad blood

Regulus and Sirius have a difficult relationship now but that wasn't always so. They had actually bonded early in life, choosing to stick together in the cold, hard face of their mother's disapproving gaze. Sirius looked out for little Regulus, making him laugh by using his early signs of magic to create soap suds in his mother tea cup. Regulus, like many younger siblings, looked up to Sirius, his always bright, forever talented, handsome elder brother.

This brotherly affection continued right up until Sirius left for Hogwarts, and in doing so, he left his impressionable younger brother open to his mother's unbridled hate and bitter ways. Sirius didn't know what had happened in that first year he was at Hogwarts, but when he returned, Regulus had changed. Sirius was disturbed by the hostility and malevolence that poured from his young ten-year-old mouth and was directed at people he'd never met.

During that first summer break, between first and second year, Sirius attempted to mend the chasm that yawned between them but to no avail. Regulus, instead of looking at him with affection, now sneered at him with disdain and where there was admiration, now there was envy. His brother now spent his days finding ways to undermine him, seeking faults he could report to his mother. Regulus sought to be the better son with a determination that was borderline deranged. Sirius, hurt to find himself betrayed by one of the few members of his family that he still liked, was forced to block Regulus out his life the best he could.

When Sirius first read Minnie's letter, the cool detachment he felt for his brother boiled over into hatred for the first time his life. He was sure that this was just another opportunity for Regulus to lay claim to Sirius' girlfriend, not because he harboured feelings for Minnie, but more to see Sirius without her. To have what Sirius has, to want what he wants, to simply to see him without. It seemed bad blood will always bite back.

* * *

Minnie woke bright and early on September 1st and stretched her hand across her bed. It was empty. She stayed in bed a bit longer and watched the light filter in through the window. She thought about nothing and everything.

On platform 9 and 3/4s nobody lingered. Parents pushed their children onto the train, kisses were rushed, goodbyes were hasty. Minnie slowly made her way down the train hallway, pausing to peek into the compartment windows on the lookout for Anna - what she really needed now was the advice of an impartial friend.

She hesitated for a moment outside the compartment door of a group of Slytherin 6th years, her heart thumping when she unexpectedly made eye contact with Regulus. He looked away indifferently and turned a page of the Daily Prophet. She thought she saw a hint of a tattoo-like mark on his forearm _. If his plan is to stop her seeing Sirius,_ Minnie thought, _then he's going to be sorely disappointed._

'Min!' She heard her name and jumped. Anna was poking her head out of a nearby compartment.

Minnie flopped down across the empty seat opposite Anna and let her hair cascade to the floor. 'Tell me about your summer, An, I could really use an anecdote right about now.'

'Well, mums been right mad this summer. Teaching me to drive a car, squealing if I drive over 20 kilometres per hour. Then every Sunday, she'll invite a 'nice' muggle boy over for dinner and spend the evening talking about this 'prestigious school' I attend, and all these 'hidden talents' I possess.' Anna made quotation marks in the air with her fingers. 'I told her I'd like to work as a Potioneer in London when I finish Hogwarts and she asked me if stirring cauldrons was how witches got their warts.'

Minnie laughed. 'Maybe I should have spent the summer with you after all!'

'And how's Charlie doing?' Anna always had a soft spot for Minnie's older brother. She was rather disgruntled back in fourth year when she discovered that Charlie's arranged marriage to Cecilia had actually panned out.

'He's just fine and dandy.' Minnie sighed and delved into the story of the soggy mess that was now her life.

Anna listened quietly. 'Pure bloods.' She muttered, shaking her head. 'You've read the fine print, then?' Minnie nodded. 'Well, I think you're right to go with disowning. It worked for Sirius, it'll work for you. Just stick it out for the year, avoid Regulus as much as you can – and try to forget about the whole thing – this is our last year after all, let's enjoy it!'

Minnie laughed. 'This is our last train ride to Hogwarts. Tonight will be our last sorting feast. Tomorrow, our last first week of school – if that makes sense.'

'Last school exams this year…Ugh NEWTs too.' Anna said, her mouth twisted in distaste. 'This year is going to be a challenge in more ways than one though, I reckon. Did you see how empty the platform was? People are terrified. I've only been able to catch the muggle news in the last few months and that's bad enough, I can't imagine what the Daily Prophet looks like right now.'

'Deaths, disappearances and other horrid words that begin with 'd'. Here.' Minnie tossed her a copy of today's paper.

The compartment door opened and Sirius traipsed in with a trademark grin. Minnie hadn't noticed it last night, but he'd grown a bit over the summer. A bit taller, a bit broader in the shoulders, a bit more defined in his facial features. _How had he managed to become even more attractive?_ She wondered as he kissed her in greeting. She could have easily spent the whole trip to Hogwarts just gaping at him, if a photograph on the front of the Daily Prophet hadn't caught her attention.

'That was the image Regulus had tattooed on his arm!' Minnie said in reference to the front page photograph of a skull and snake symbol hovering over a small Welsh village.

Sirius went rigid while Anna looked at Minnie blankly.

He quietly said, 'I'd been hoping it wasn't true.' Minnie turned to him in askance. 'It's known as a dark mark and all Death eaters have one. They're a symbol of loyalty to Voldemort as well as a form of communication.' Anna flinched at the use of you-know-who's name but Minnie was somewhat used to Sirius' blasé use of the taboo word.

'But you-know-who wouldn't want teenagers in his ranks, would he?' Anna asked, horrified.

'He'd want anyone who was on the inside of Hogwarts, shadowing Dumbledore and sending out messages to say when he'd left the castle.'

The three were stunned into silence. Hogwarts was their safe haven, their sanctuary away from the world. Were they quietly and meekly hurtling towards a death trap at this very minute?

* * *

Now that Minnie had seen the Dark Mark she was more aware of it than ever. Wherever she looked she saw messages of hate smeared all over the school, in library text books and on school desks. Once, she found on the mirror of the girls' bathroom the words, 'blood traitors beware - reject the pureblood ideology and die a painful death!' all written in an unsettlingly soft shade of pink lipstick.

All of it was secondary of course, and Minnie, while disquieted, was never afraid for her wellbeing while at Hogwarts. Not with Dumbledore watching the school, not with Sirius at her side and he was often accompanied by James, Remus and Peter. She felt as safe as she could be, and besides, who would want to harm her?


	18. Fragmented

Twilight is that strange time of the day when two worlds – that of light and that of dark - merge together. Poor Minnie, for she was running late for the beginning of her NEWT level astronomy class and not paying attention to the shadows in the hallway, to the footsteps on her tail, to the muttering around the corner.

Two green robed students stepped around a corner and purposefully into her path. She, ignoring her gut, attempted to side step them, but they moved their bodies to block hers and one attempted to paw at her breasts. Minnie flinched back, her body coming into contact with another large male figure and she drew her wand, endeavouring to keep it steady as her hands shook.

Minnie had always been hopeless at Defence against the Dark Arts. She was too day dreamy, too sweet natured, too jumpy to ever be a decent duellist. When she scraped an Acceptable in the OWL theory, and a Poor in her practical, Minnie decided to abandon the class and its hopeless array of ever changing professors for more mindful and nourishing subjects like Herbology and Astronomy. Minnie regretted it now though.

She vaguely recognised them, all Slytherins, two 7th years in front, one burley 6th year in back. She wanted to ask them what they wanted, but feared the answer. They told her anyway.

'We're 'ere to pass on a message, ain't we, Nott?'

'Fawley, this is your first and only warning. Continue to liaise with the disowned Black brother and suffer the peculiar punishment we reserve especially for _female_ blood traitors.' Nott spat.

The hulking Slytherin behind her snickered, 'should we show 'er what we mean, like?'

But Minnie didn't stick around to find out what it was. Dodging around the bulky 6th year with dexterity she didn't know she had, Minnie fled back the way she came. The Slytherins gave chase, throwing hex after hex and much too impatient to bother aiming between shots. Minnie with her heart in her throat, tore down the stone hallway, watching with alarm as the bouncing sparks and lights threw her running shadow around the room.

The Slytherins fell back early on. They only needed to forward a warning from Regulus, and Nott thought the job had gone exactly according to plan - scaring her had just been for fun.

Minnie continued to run through the castle until her lungs and legs tightly ached. She ran past the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, where she knew Anna was writing essays, and continued on towards Gryffindor common room.

She hadn't even had chance to think about how she might get past the password protected portrait hole when she found the one person she needed right outside. Sirius.

Minnie, shaken and pale, didn't need to say anything. He took one look at her and said, 'go on without me,' to James and Peter as he gave the password and led Minnie into the Gryffindor common room. Sirius led her quickly past the curious students milling around the circular room that evening and up the spiral mahogany staircase.

It never occurred to Minnie to ask where Sirius, James and Peter might be heading at this time in the evening and why Remus wasn't with them, but she was too distraught to think clearly. If she had been in the right mind to ask, James might have made a joke about Remus' furry little problem, and Peter might have lewdly said not _that_ kind of problem, and Sirius would have said nothing, sorry to keep secrets from his girlfriend, but it wasn't his secret to share anyway.

Any other time and Minnie would have felt dead uncomfortable at finding herself up in a boys' dormitory. Not once during the prior Christmas that Minnie and Sirius shared, had she a reason to come up here.

Sirius sat her down on the window seat that overlooked the darkening grounds. He took a seat next to her, folded his legs up on the seat and rested his arms on his knees. 'We have a rule that dates back to our third year,' Sirius said, seemingly following her thoughts, 'no girls up here. Anyone who breaks the code of conduct has to _accidentally_ call Professor McGonagall _mum_ during Transfiguration. Looks like I'm in for a delightful day tomorrow.'

Minnie's distress briefly turned to laughter and she recounted the last thirty minutes while she still felt able. As she spoke, Sirius' face grew darker and he looked like he wanted to interrupt her so he could run out the portrait hole and give the Slytherins a message of his own.

'I'll deal with them.'

'How?'

Sirius laughed darkly and for a second Minnie saw him distorted, the man he might have become had he listened to his parent's incessant indoctrination.

'I'll be sending a silent message back to Regulus via his little friends.'

'It won't stop them, Sirius, we need to report this to a professor!'

'No! Min – that'll make things worse, don't you see? These guys are bigger than the teachers now – they're not just a few school bullies that we're dealing with, they're actual Death Eaters. A little word to the ranks on the outside and you might not see Charlie again.' Sirius looked disgusted for a second. 'They're children who have been enlisted by Voldemort to harm. I don't know what Dumbledore is thinking by accepting them back at Hogwarts when he knows what they are. If he thinks they'll change their little minds, then he's gone around the bend a few years early.'

'And you think hexing his friends will stop him?!'

'No, but it'll make me feel better.' Sirius grinned. 'Min, you have to practise your defensive magic, in case this happens again. I'll teach you a few reliable hexes and check the quality of your shield charm.' Minnie's worried face prompted Sirius to continue. 'You did the right thing Min, by running. It was not your fault that this happened, okay?' Sirius pulled her to him across the window seat. 'But they'll be expecting you to run next time.'

'Will there be a next time?'

'Yep.' Sirius' lips popped on the 'p'.

Minnie spoke her next words with care. 'What if they thought we'd heeded their warning and we were no longer together? If we staged a breakup, it would keep them off my back, wouldn't it? We could meet up in secret, you know the castle inside and out, and they'd never find out.' She chanced a glance at Sirius and he looked unexpectedly thoughtful.

'Well, today only proved that I can't always be there to help, and I believe the factor driving Regulus down this road is my interest in you. He'd take great pleasure in taking you away from me and would probably lose interest if I were no longer dating you.' Sirius looked out the window for a second, the yellow castle lights painted his face gold. 'It might not work - Regulus is pretty astute, but his overinflated ego may cloud his judgement. He'd believe it because he'd want to.'

'Where will we meet? How can I get a message to you?'

'I'll find you.' Sirius pulled out a piece of parchment and gave it a smart tap with his wand. 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' With pride he pointed out two dots that said Williamina Fawley and Sirius Black.

'Oh, GOD!'

'What?!' Sirius asked, greatly alarmed.

Minnie stared at him wide-eyed. 'I've missed my astronomy class!'

* * *

That night, Sirius and Minnie mapped out a plan. Sirius had wanted to have a dramatic blowout in the Great Hall at breakfast the next morning, but Minnie didn't want the attention. 'Besides, I don't think I could keep a straight face,' she claimed. So they agreed to keep it subtle with an orchestrated conversation near notorious eves-dropper and gossip queen Bertha Jorkins. With a little luck Bertha would have the whole school – and therefore Regulus – knowing Sirius and Minnie were no longer dating without either of them lifting a finger.

It was just after lunch that they found their opportunity. Bertha, alone and on her way to her next class, was walking just in front of Minnie and Sirius. Sirius leaned over and whispered, 'follow my lead.' Before speaking a little louder than normal, the words: 'Look, I think it would be in our best interests if we took a break from each other – saw other people, you know?'

Minnie, trying to keep the smirk out her voice, demanded, 'who is she, Black? You say she's just a friend, but I see the way you look at her!'

'Leave her out of it! This is about us, Fawley, and I think we're done here.'

'Fine.' Minnie turned on her heel and found an alternative route to her next class and Sirius noticed that Bertha had slowed down, trying to listen in. When Minnie walked off, Sirius took a short cut behind a tapestry to avoid being probed by Bertha directly.

Sirius greatly disliked Bertha. He often caught her listening in to the Marauders conversations – and they had more secrets to keep than most students. In their sixth year, Sirius and James were discussing Remus' recovery in the Hospital Wing, when he noticed her perked ears and slightly turned face, and so Sirius loudly stated, ' _and then I found out she was only 14!_ ' Before he knew it, gossip had spread all over the school about him besmirching the virtue of a younger student but at least nothing about Remus had spread.

Needless to say Minnie and Sirius' idea worked. Only four people were in on the plan: James, Peter, Remus and Anna.

When Sirius told James of his plan, James revealed his own news regarding Lily. The 7th year had brought about a few changes in the Marauders. With Sirius devoting much of his free time to Minnie, James' mischievous ways had quietened down somewhat. Couple that with the seriousness to which he took his head boy duties and Lily had agreed to give the poor hopelessly smitten sod a chance.

Only Lily knows what he did to warm her to him, it may have been the lily flower hairpin he gave her for her 17th birthday, a gift of finely wrought goblin made silver that scented of fresh lilies when worn. Or it could have been the maturity that he displayed when handling his head boy duties. Perhaps his relentless banter with her had turned a corner, less pushy and more happy-go-lucky. Whatever it was, Lily suddenly found James' habit of messing his hair endearing rather than irritating and she found herself laughing until she cried at his absurd jokes. She eventually thought they complemented each other rather well, his carefree ways put her at ease, her inherent kindness rubbed off on him, until their mutual attraction bubbled into genuine affection.

Remus however spent his 7th year withdrawing. His looming adult years were almost upon him and he was much too clever to think that his future employers would be as fair and unbiased towards him as Dumbledore was. His grades were impeccable, his magic brilliant, but these qualities would all be moot in the eyes of an interviewer, when current law ordained he must disclose his werewolf identity for any job he applied for.

Anna enjoyed her 7th year more than any other. She'd just started dating Samuel after he spent the better part of three years working up the courage to ask her out. In her spare time, she ran the Hogwarts Gobstones Club and kept up with her classwork. But more than anything, it was because she really came out of her shell that year, became more at ease in her own skin. Anna still thought her ears stuck out too much and that her hair was too straight for current fashion, but she didn't seem to mind it so much these days. However, she missed spending time with Minnie. The girls were growing apart and she didn't want that to happen. Good friends aren't always easy to come by.

7th year for Peter went exactly how you would expect. With the three other Marauders caught up in their own worlds, Peter's life ground to a halt. His professors were as disappointed as ever – despite the best of intentions from Remus to tutor him. Girls were uninterested – even the ones Peter considered below him. And there were fewer high jinks now that James was playing the mature head boy role for Lily. In fact, only one interesting thing happened that year and it came in the form of Regulus Black.

It had started with a threat and ended with an offer. Peter had managed to avoid the increased hostility from the Slytherin Death Eaters by morphing into his Animagus rat form whenever he saw them and it had worked for a time.

But once, cornered and frozen, Peter found himself accosted by Slytherins and he did the only thing he knew. He begged. He begged and bargained and pleaded for them to let him go and he'd help them. He'd share castle secret passageways, or the prefects after-curfew surveillance route, or the map! The map? They asked. Yes! The map of Hogwarts! Peter exclaimed. I'll hand it over if you agree to leave me alone.

So it was done. The precious map that the boys had spent the better part of their second year creating was furtively handed over to Nott and Crabbe in a cloak and dagger moment later that night. Peter felt a smidge of guilt at betraying his friends, but that was swamped in the rush of adrenaline that came with getting away with the deception.

The following morning, Sirius tore through his trunk in search of the map, for he was the last one to have it. Peter offered a few hurried suggestions as to where it might be, before he dashed out the dormitory and down to breakfast. None of the boys expected any more from Peter and so his behaviour was put down to the usual bottomless hunger.

That might have been the end of that little blip in Peter's friendships, had he not developed a thirst for the thrill that came with deceit. Peter justified it each night by telling himself that if James, Sirius and Remus were around more often to help against the Slytherins, then this would never have happened. If James wasn't more interested in being an upstanding head boy, if Sirius wasn't too absorbed in his girl issues, if Remus was more present and less introspective, Peter would not have had to hand over the map, or have accepted an invitation from young Death Eater Regulus, or have slid down that slippery slope that led him to his eventual place as Voldemort's pitiful servant.

Not that the Slytherins held the map for very long anyway. Too dense, too inept, too confident to keep that map hidden, they were caught just a week later trying to enter a passage way on the second floor that straight into Hogsmeade, unaware that Filch knew all about this secret passage out of the castle and could hear the clanging from his office whenever a student attempted to crawl behind the suit of armour to reach it. When Filch found the boys, trying to push the bulky Crabbe through the gap, he'd frisked them down but was disappointed to find no fanged frisbees or dung bombs. Instead he found a blank sheet of folded parchment and the boys' reactions to his discovery suggested it was more than it appeared.


	19. Blind

Sirius felt blind without that map. He could no longer check up on Minnie at a glance and now that they are _officially_ no longer dating, he couldn't watch over her in person either. He felt Regulus watching him. Watching him a meal times. Watching him in the hallways. Suspecting the truth and thus waiting for Sirius to slip up and talk to Minnie, or touch her, or even look at her.

Sirius, disciplined and keeping his impulsive nature at bay, kept away from Minnie as much as possible. He chatted to the simpering Gryffindor girls who flirted with him but were unable to detect his indifference. He struggled sometimes, his desire to just be near Minnie sometimes got the better of him and he couldn't help but brush against her as he passed her in the hallway.

Where he usually took shortcuts between his classes, but he now found himself taking longer routes and he watched Minnie from a distance, making sure she reached her classes without hassle. He considered telling Minnie that the map was gone, but decided not to worry her, sure that he could protect her without Regulus ever finding out.

His frustrations at his circumstances were worked out in hallway duels – with Regulus, or Snape, or whoever was foolish enough to mess with a wound up and incensed Sirius Black. As a result, it looked like he was going to rack up more detentions this year than any other.

Minnie felt the same way. In the Great Hall she always sat with her back to the Slytherins and facing Gryffindor so she could simply watch Sirius, envious of the attention he gave his friends, jealous of the girls that were free to rub their short skirted thighs against him. She knew he was unable to gaze back at her, not without risking Regulus catching sight. So instead she willingly tortured herself. She could look but she couldn't touch.

The closest that she'd been to Sirius all week was when she'd leaned across him for a spare set of secateurs in Herbology. Her hair (which was longer these days) had brushed his hand and she sensed he'd frozen. If she had had the courage to look him the eyes she would have seen the conflicting love and despair at war behind his eyelids, but female students were watching Sirius constantly too, and it would only take one suspicious and scorned teenage girl to realise he wasn't over Minnie. Then it all would have been for naught.

She had expected Sirius to pull her aside by now and she tried to spend as much time solo as she could, wandering the secret passageways, hoping Sirius would see her on the map and come find her. To pull her against him and kiss her like he used to.

Minnie didn't know that the map was missing and she worried that she had made a grave mistake in fake splitting with Sirius. Had he changed his mind? The rumour had worked better than imagined, and the girls who had mostly lost interest when she dated Sirius were back in full force, giggling, ogling and touching him. Perhaps he was now more aware of his options.

* * *

Friday afternoon during a free period, Minnie wandered over to the library, hoping to find peace to write her Potions essay away from the bubbling end-of-week vibes in her common room. She needed to write a piece on the effects of a mis-brewed Felix Felicis potion and required examples of wizards who found themselves dogged by misfortune for 24hours.

The shelves that held the texts she needed were at the back of the library, in a section titled _luck_ , and it was here that she found Sirius. He stood with his back to her, a large book in his hands and appeared too engrossed in reading to realise she was behind him, so she watched him silently. He was quite a bit taller than her now, before her chin lined up with his shoulders quite nicely, now it was the top of her head that aligned with his shoulders. She'd always liked his posture too. It was somehow both straight and relaxed, and showed how comfortable and confident he was in his body.

Minnie idled and Sirius sensed someone behind him as he returned the book to the shelf. He turned and froze. And she froze. And they watched each other mutely, all the words not said floating in the space between them. And still he said nothing. For what could he say to make her feel better? And she him? They were stuck, playing games with Regulus, with each other, until one of them gave in.

With sorrow in his eyes, he crossed the short space between them and passed her an exquisitely crafted origami crane. His warm fingers rested against her own for a few seconds before he let go.

'Read it.' Sirius said and Minnie watched him leave the library without looking back. She carefully unfolded the parchment.

 _Meet me at Hagrid's hut at 6pm._

* * *

The rest of the day stretched on forever. When the frosty evening finally rolled around, Minnie flew down to the gamekeeper's hut where she could see a healthy billow of smoke snaking out the chimney. She usually kept away from Hagrid - she found him a little bit frightening even though she knew she had no reason to, but tonight she didn't care.

The base of her palm hammered at the door and Sirius opened it and invited her into the otherwise empty room. It was cosy inside, the furniture oversized, the fur rug beneath her feet deliciously fluffy.

When she turned to Sirius leaning against the large closed door she felt nervous, she didn't know how to behave around him anymore.

'It's not working, Min. He knows it's all for show.'

Minnie's shoulders released all the tension she'd been holding. 'So we abandon the plan. I'll brush up on my defensive spell work and we'll get through this year together.'

'Not yet. It's a good idea, we just need to be more convincing. I think it would be best if you were to start…pursuing Regulus.' Sirius looked pained, like it was the last thing he wanted to say.

Minnie laughed wildly, her face pale, her next words manic, 'I'm not pursuing Regulus! He's a repulsive human being! What makes you think _flirting,_ ' she said this word with a twist of disgust, 'with him will convince him that we're not together anymore?!'

'Because he's my brother, Min. He knows me, he knows I still want you.'

They looked at each other then, torn between what they wanted and what was best, and they embraced for the first time in two weeks. They stayed up late that night, talking about the missing map, about Hagrid letting them stay for the evening while he traversed the forbidden forest, about Minnie's thoughts writing themselves on her face for all to read. And even though it wrung Minnie's heart to suggest it, she suggested that Sirius should date someone else too. If they were going to go down this path, then they would do it properly.

* * *

Severus Snape will never forget where he was when he discovered his Lily was dating that cocky bastard, Potter.

He was eating dinner in the Great Hall and reading, pleased to discover that 7th year students had full access to the restricted section of the library, when a streak of red hair caught his attention. He had had a bloody piece of steak halfway to his lips when he saw Lily grin at Potter the way she used to grin at Severus and then Potter leaned over to kis-

His fork clattered to his plate startled the surrounding Slytherins. He stood, his hands shook but otherwise he appeared calm as he gathered the books he had spread around him, almost like a wall against those who sat nearby.

He didn't remember the walk down to the Slytherin common room, he wasn't aware of much at all until he noticed he was back in his dormitory and held in his hands his prized possessions. They were a motley collection of photographs and letters and gifts. They were all that remained of Severus' and Lily's friendship. They were now burning as he took his wand to the pile of papers and torched them.

Severus Snape swore that he'd see the death of Potter and his friends.

* * *

It was during that same dinner that Minnie waited with a heavy and anxious heart for Regulus to leave the Great Hall. Once most of the students had departed for their dormitories, Regulus finally rose and sauntered to out the hall alongside a shorthaired and platinum blonde Slytherin girl. Minnie caught them at the base of the marble staircase, the girl was animated in her topic.

'Reg!' Minnie called, hoping the familiarity of the nickname would catch him unaware.

Both turned to look at Minnie and she noticed the girl edge closer to him protectively. 'I really enjoyed watching you fly last week,' Minnie said in reference to the latest Quidditch match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. 'Your last minute use of the Wronski Feint was very clever!'

Regulus said nothing, gauged her face, calculated her words, before he politely said, 'thank-you.'

The Slytherin girl's eyes darted between the two as Minnie departed with a cheerful 'night!'

As Minnie walked away, she felt his eyes follow her and it made her skin crawl. She tried her best to put it behind her as she smiled at Regulus in the halls between classes and doled out fake complements to him like they were free sweets. She stopped watching Sirius in the Great Hall and now sat facing the Slytherin table.

Minnie didn't feel like she was being all that convincing, but it appeared to be working. Regulus began to approach Minnie at mealtimes and talk to her. He often rested a possessive hand on her shoulder and Minnie sincerely hoped that Sirius wasn't watching.

But he never seemed to be. Whenever Minnie peeked at Sirius, he looked happy and content, sometimes in an animated conversation with Remus, sometimes making the Gryffindor girls laugh.

Instead, she often caught Regulus watching her and it was never a nice way that he looked at her. She felt like she was being evaluated and ranked by those shadowed eyes he owned. She felt trapped, drowning. Caught in a rough current, unable to swim or control the direction that the waves flung her. She just hoped she'd eventually find herself tossed back to dry land.

At least the Slytherins left Minnie alone now and respectfully ignored her between classes. The other noteworthy change was Snape's increased vendetta against James and often Sirius too. Minnie knew there was no love lost between those boys, but the animosity and rage that this new Snape took to James had reached a new peak.

The new James was different too. He dealt with Snape with a level of maturity and wisdom that James was not typically known for. For James knew he was the victor in their seven-year long war over Lily and that victory allowed him to take the high road.

James has always known about Snape's affections for Lily, it was one of the reasons he bullied him for all those years, even if his younger self wasn't always aware of it. After their 5th year, when James noticed Lily was no longer friendly towards Snape, his animosity towards the 'weird kid' tapered off.

These days, James left Snape alone, but the same was not offered in return. Snape attempted with renewed zeal to get The Marauders expelled at any opportunity. He held James personally responsible for the day his prized friendship with Lily crumbled. If James hadn't assaulted him after their Defence Against the Dark Arts exam, Lily wouldn't have come to his aid, and Snape, furious and humiliated, wouldn't have called her _that word_. It was easier to lay the blame at the feet of his enemy, than to accept his own role in losing Lily.


	20. Smoke and mirrors

On their way to the library, Minnie and Anna passed by Sirius walking in the opposite direction with Gryffindor 7th year Prisha Patil. Upon seeing the two of them deep in an intimate conversation, Minnie adverted her eyes, alarmed by the overwhelming desire she had to hex the other female. Prisha was a lovely looking girl, with curtain of dark straight hair and a bright smile.

Anna grimaced, but kindly suggested that she should ignore them. 'Don't worry Min, you know he's your loyal puppy dog,' she whispered, not knowing how spot on her comment was.

'I guess. She doesn't have to be so bloody good looking though. Why couldn't he chat to one of the uglier girls?'

Anna laughed but faltered when they also passed a 6th year Slytherin girl sitting in an alcove. The same girl with the short platinum blonde hair whose conversation with Regulus Minnie had interrupted earlier in the month.

'She's a very sour faced Slytherin.' Anna said in reference to the bitter look the girl threw them. 'I mean, they're all a bit ill-natured, but she particularly so.'

'I think she may have been interested in Regulus before I…' Minnie hesitated, only just realising the how many people were now caught up in their farce. 'Before I ruined it for her.'

Anna looked at her sympathetically. 'She's a Malfoy, by the looks of her. She'd probably be giving us that face regardless.' Anna mocked the girl's curled lip and Minnie laughed. 'Jokes aside though, you should be very wary of her. If she thinks you've stolen Regulus from her, she may be trouble.'

* * *

It wasn't long before rumours about Sirius and Prisha made it to Minnie's ears. Rumours that he fancied Prisha, that he'd asked her to join him in Hogsmeade later that month. Minnie wanted to know both everything she could and nothing at all. She quietly observed them together, watched as Sirius languidly draped his arm around her shoulders, watched as she laughed at his jokes. She searched for hints that he didn't like her as much as everyone said.

She knew it was all a part of the plan they'd mapped out. They had hoped that Regulus would leave Minnie alone if he thought Sirius' attentions now lay elsewhere. So Sirius shut his eyes to Minnie and flirted with Prisha, and Minnie turned away from Sirius and towards his brother.

Regulus saw everything. Every look. Every smile. Was their constant audience. So Sirius put on his best show of indifference, a careful performance of aloofness towards Minnie.

Minnie told herself it was a display. It wasn't real. But she didn't understand how Sirius did it. How he detached himself from her so painlessly when she still wore her feelings on her face, carried the hurt in her eyes. Since their meeting at Hagrid's, Sirius looked at Minnie like she meant nothing to him. Maybe she was nothing to him.

Every evening, she obsessively examined the writing on her thigh and yet it remained as opaque as it was the night Sirius wrote it in. She supposed that meant he was still loyal to her, but still she doubted herself more and more with each passing day.

Minnie bumped into Sirius and Prisha wherever she turned. They paired up for classes and they sat together at meals. Sirius spent more time at Prisha's side than he ever did with Minnie. When she closed her eyes she saw them together and her dreams were punctured by them.

It made her want to be reckless and pull Sirius aside and kiss him until her insecurities were squashed. But Sirius seemed to have no issue with Regulus chatting to her, touching her, and she didn't want to be the weakest one, the one who gave in first.

So when Regulus invited Minnie to join him for the mid-November trip to Hogsmeade, she felt compelled to accept.

* * *

 _Could she get out of it,_ she wondered? _Feign illness to escape a distressing day at Hogsmeade in the company of Regulus Black._

Minnie shuddered at the prospect, but she needed to get out of the castle. She felt stir-crazy in this castle that was both too big and too small, unable to talk to Sirius, unable to touch him, unable to do anything other than watch him touch and talk to girls that were not her.

She met up with Regulus in the Entrance Hall, although he barely greeted her. _There must be some similarities between the brothers_ , Minnie thought. Sirius had the same tough guy exterior, the same arrogance, the same standoffishness. But beneath that hard facade, Sirius had warmth and humour, and as much as he would deny it, he had a good soul. Was Regulus the same? Perhaps his shell is thicker than Sirius'? Or is this all he is? Bigotry, disdain and haughtiness to his very core.

They walked together (or rather marched) down the path that led from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade in uneasy silence. The other students around her looked like they were enjoying themselves, and despite the blustery weather, they were animated and excited, chatting about joke shops and sweet shops. Minnie envied them their happiness.

They strode down the windy cobblestone road that ran through Hogsmeade. Minnie didn't ask where they were going, she didn't particularly care where in Hogsmeade her horrid day would take place.

Regulus said nothing and Minnie thought that he walked a little like Sirius did. If she kept her eyes on the ground, she could just about imagine that it is him walking beside her. It was a small comfort in her new life.

With her face down she nearly missed catching Sirius and Prisha, both dressed to kill, both standing shoulder to shoulder before the window display in Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. Sirius with his hand on her arm, pointed at the handsome quills on offer and Prisha stood on tiptoes near his ear, to be heard over the howling wind.

Regulus, noticing the same said, 'She really likes him, doesn't she?'

'I'm sure she does.' Minnie replied evenly.

'That's good, because Sirius _really_ likes her.'

'I'm sure he does.' Again without inflection.

 _What would he do if I just turned around and walked back to the castle?_ she pondered, but he was watching her closely so Minnie kept her face closed off and emotionless.

She guessed she passed the test because he nodded and opened the door to the Hog's Head Inn, a dingy little pub on the outskirts of the village.

There were no other students in the pub and just two other cloaked and hooded men. For one heart stopping moment, Minnie wondered if she were about to join a Death Eater meeting, but Regulus took a seat at a crude wooden table and flicked a galleon at her.

'Buy us a couple of drinks.'

 _Just seven more months of this,_ sighed Minnie internally.

At the bar, the owner eyed her shrewdly as he poured two Butterbeers. He didn't exactly make her feel welcome in her pub, but she felt safe under his watchful eyes.

She felt a gust of cold wind whip her hair as the pub door flew open.

With a tingle in the tips of her fingers, with a prickle at the back her neck, Minnie knew that Sirius was behind her. He approached the bar and stood a polite distance away from her. She glanced at him briefly, noting the dark shadows under his eyes, the averted face. She said nothing to him, for there was nothing she could have said in front of Regulus anyway.

Minnie gathered her drinks and change, and with trembling hands walked back to Regulus. _Why was Sirius here? Had Prisha brought him along?_ It appeared not, reading Prisha's frown as she attempted to open a jammed window and let in some air. Minnie didn't think anybody had opened a window in the Hog's Head since about 1932.

Regulus drank half his drink in one go. Why did he look like he wanted to be in her company no more than she did? _This ploy may be working after all,_ Minnie thought, stunned. _Sirius was right, he only wanted her while Sirius wanted her. Regulus might be close to losing interest and then she could go back to Sirius. If Sirius still wanted her…_

'Are you listening to me?' Regulus' harsh words broke Minnie's train of thought.

Minnie stared back reproachfully.

Regulus sighed. 'I said, I don't want you hanging around mudbloods anymore. Your friend – you can do better than her.'

Fuming, Minnie bit back. 'Is that a threat?'

'It can be.' Cold. Cruel.

'I'm going to the bathroom.' She stood quickly, letting her chair clatter to the floor. _Could I slip out, without him knowing?_ With the barest of glances at Sirius and Prisha – who were holding hands across the table and seemed quite comfortable together – Minnie headed down the cramped and dark hallway that lead to an outhouse in the courtyard.

The courtyard was completely closed off from the nearby roads, it looked like the only way out would be through the front door. Was she bold enough to confront his intimidating threats? Or would it do more harm than good.

On her return to the hallway, she found her path blocked by a seething Sirius, his body filling the narrow space of the corridor as he leaned his shoulder against the wall, waiting for her.

'Enjoying your date?' Minnie lobbed at him. She was irritable and prickly and she didn't care if she hurt him.

'You know I'm not,' came his reply. _What does he have to be angry about?_ Minnie thought, _he got to choose his company._

'Then why are you flaunting her in my face?'

'What- Min! This is what we agreed, remember? Why are you here of all pla-'

But a rumble beneath their feet interrupted them. Caught off guard, Minnie lost her balance and Sirius steadied her, his hands on her hips a balm for an ache she'd been ignoring for weeks.

Almost forgetting the shock of the shaking ground, Minnie looked up into Sirius' sharp grey eyes, saw the twitch in his throat and wanted, no needed, him to kiss her. But her heart plummeted as he wrenched himself away from her and dashed back to the bar.

She watched as Prisha ran to him, concern and affection evident in her eyes, and Minnie had to turn away feeling nauseous. The bar was now empty save for Prisha, the cloaked men were gone and Regulus was probably at the scene of the crime – or the cause of it.

Sirius, with a short, 'I have to go,' that could have been for either Prisha or Minnie, bolted out the door like a bat out of hell. Minnie made to follow, but the front door slammed, forging a neat crack along the wall.

'You two will be going nowhere.'

Minnie spun on the spot to find the bartender with wand in hand.

'But I have to-'

'Have to what? What are you going to do? You're an underage witch. Whatever has happened out there, it is better for everyone if you wait here until a teacher comes to get you.' The bartender's piercingly blue eyes scrutinised Minnie as she calmly stared back, scrounging her brain for a retort. Prisha sat down heavily on a nearby chair.

Minnie turned, ran over to a window and wiped at it with the scruff of her sleeve, trying to see through. The street outside was empty and eerily quiet – not a soul around.

'Here.' The grizzly bartender plonked a couple of glasses of mulled wine down on the table near Prisha.

Minnie turned back to the window, hoping someone would walk past so she could ask what the hell had just happened. She knew that Sirius would be throwing himself right into the middle of whatever was going down right now.

After ten minutes of staring out the window at nothing, Minnie reluctantly joined Prisha at the table. She felt uncomfortable to be sharing a drink with her rival and it seemed Prisha felt the same way.

Minnie sipped quietly at her wine, the warmth and spices almost relaxed her.

'What do you think has happened? Is it you-know-who?' Prisha asked, her voice a little shaky.

Minnie rudely shrugged and let silence stretch out between them.

'You don't think much of me, do you?' Prisha attempted to be casual while asking such a loaded question.

Minnie looked up into Prisha's face with surprise. It wasn't that she disliked her. Prisha was kind and friendly, the sort of girl that Minnie could have been good friends with, had they been sorted into the same house. How could she think that Minnie thought little of her?

'It's not that…that I don't like you. But, I mean, you know I used to date Sirius, right?' Minnie stuttered. She couldn't believe she was even having this conversation.

Prisha flared her nostrils, her nose ring glinted in the weak light that filtered through the dirty windows.

'Yes, but then you left him.' She huffed. 'For his brother.'

Minnie gaped. _Is that what people thought?_

Prisha nervously twisted the gold bangles on her wrist. 'It's just that, he won't talk about you and I can see that he's really hurt by whatever happened between you two. I've wanted to ask you for a while, because I cannot for the life of me get a straight answer out of that man. So,' she leaned forward and tucked her silky black hair behind her ear, 'why did you leave him for Regulus? Not for money, surely?'

'Errr…' What could she say? How about, _I'm locked into a magically bound marriage contract with Regulus and his threats towards my friends, family and even me keep me from being with the one person I love – your boyfriend Sirius Black._ No, that wouldn't go down well. Minnie supressed an awkward giggle and Prisha eyed her warily.

A fortunate knock at the door saved Minnie from the lies she was sick of telling. At first glance it appeared nobody was there, but a second glance revealed the slight Professor Flitwick.

'Any students here? Ah yes.' Flitwick, make two little ticks on the parchment he held in his hands. 'Everyone is accounted for, then. Let's go.' Flitwick motioned them outside.

Minnie stumbled up from her seat, the mulled wine was stronger than she realised. 'Does that mean that no students are hurt?'

'Erm, well, no students are missing.' Flitwick squeaked, hesitating at Minnie's question.

'Who's hurt?' Prisha asked, falling step next to Flitwick's painfully slow hobble back to the castle.

'Well, one girl was hurt rather badly, I'm afraid.' Flitwick replied but hastily added, 'but Madam Pomfrey has assured us she'll make a full recovery.'

'Anybody else?' Minnie asked, thinking their progress would be faster if she just threw the tiny Flitwick over her shoulder and carried him back to the castle.

'It appears there was a bit of a scuffle between the Black boys.'

Both Minnie and Prisha picked up their pace, about to sprint back through Hogsmeade. 'Hey! Stop it girls! You need to stay with me, it's not safe for you two to be off on your own right now. Your boyfriends can wait a minute; they aren't too hurt.'

'Who's the girl? The one that was hurt?' Prisha queried.

'Anna Wright.'

And Minnie tore up to the castle, ignoring the shouts from behind.


	21. The best laid plans

Minnie skidded into the hospital wing and ran straight into the back of Madam Pomfrey.

'Sorry! Sorry!' Minnie cried as the stern nurse opened her mouth to admonish her.

'If you're here to see Miss Wright, you will not under any circumstance wake the poor girl up.' Hissed Madam Pomfrey.

Minnie paled as she sighted the nurses blood stained apron and unsteadily made her way through the wing. All the beds appeared empty bar one, which was accompanied by Lily.

She gently sat at the end of the bed and rested her hand on her friend's leg. Anna was deep in sleep, but her face was ashen and her arm heavily bandaged.

With a deep frown, Minnie whispered to Lily, 'what on earth happened?'

Lily shook her head. 'We don't know all of it. James and I had just left Dervish and Banges, at the quieter end of Hogsmeade, you know?' Minnie nodded. 'And we heard a shout, that came from up by the Shrieking Shack.' Lily swallowed. 'We found Lucy Malfoy using the Cruciatus Curse on Anna, calling her horrible words…' Lily broke off and Minnie understood exactly what words they would have been. Words like mudblood.

'Lucy Malfoy…?'

'Yeah. A second cousin of Lucius Malfoy, you remember him, right?'

Minnie nodded slowly, coming to the horrible realisation that she knew exactly who Lucy Malfoy was. Minnie had unintentionally antagonised the girl by hanging around Regulus - Anna had warned Minnie to be wary of her.

Minnie hung her head in her hands and groaned. It was her fault Anna was here.

Lily continued. 'James jumped right in and began duelling her. I tried my best to revive Anna, but-' she grimaced and spread her hands. 'Then Regulus appeared from nowhere and used the Convulsion Charm to fissure the earth. There were deep cracks opening in the ground beneath us, and James was trying to duel them both at once, and I was trying to hold onto Anna so she didn't slide down into a crevice.' Lily drew in a shaky breath.

'Thank-you.' Minnie whispered.

Lily looked at Minnie quietly, thinking out her next words. 'And then I looked up and Sirius was there. Regulus said…' Lily hesitated. 'He said, "your new girlfriend is very pretty, I may have her too.'' And then Regulus was down and Sirius was on him. Sirius punched him.'

Minnie didn't respond. _Did Sirius punch him for her? Or for Prisha?_

'Anna was hit with a stray Fire Rope hex, we both got burnt but Anna got it worse.' Lily said, showing Minnie her singed robes. 'McGonagall and Hagrid found us shortly after – took Anna back to the castle…' Lily fell silent.

'So what now? I mean… The Cruciatus Curse…'

'James and Sirius are in the Headmasters Office with Dumbledore and McGonagall right now. We'll have to wait and see.'

Time crawled as Minnie and Lily waited for their boys. Maybe an hour had passed when footsteps broke Minnie out of her trance. When they neared the bed, James and Sirius looked at each other, silently asking who would speak.

James said, 'we've just given our account of what happened. Dumbledore didn't say anything the whole time. We didn't know if he believed us, or if he thought it was a load of codswallop.' Sirius shook his head. 'And um, Regulus and Lucy were due to give their _version of events_ after us. So, we may have hung around outside Dumbledore's office to see if we can learn anything.'

'What?!' Lily hissed. 'You eavesdropped?!'

'We weren't caught.' Sirius shrugged.

Minnie put a hand on Lily's leg to quiet her as she opened her mouth to berate them again. 'Did you learn anything?' Minnie asked. She felt conflicted. It had been such a godawful day, but here she was, sitting next to Sirius and having a conversation. She was free let her eyes roam his face without fear of who might see.

'Lucy is to be expelled for severely injuring another student with intent, as well as using an illegal curse.'

'Wow.' Lily sat stunned.

'And Regulus?' Minnie eagerly asked.

'Detentions. Biweekly from now until the end of the year. And 50 points from Slytherin.' Sirius paused, then said, 'Same as I.'

'For what? Protecting a friend?!' Minnie was outraged.

'For the punch I threw Regulus.' Sirius said with satisfaction. 'Though the little berk had it coming.'

'A shame Regulus wasn't expelled too. It would have solved a few problems.'

But Sirius didn't say anything. He was looking at his hands in his lap and Minnie wilted as she thought, _I'm losing him._

* * *

Minnie remained by Anna's side for most of the weekend, routinely transfiguring random bedside items into puppy dogs and kittens for her amusement. Her burns were no issue to an accomplished nurse like Madam Pomfrey and Anna was healed perfectly by the next morning. It was the mental anguish caused by the curse that did the worst damage, Minnie had heard that the pain was beyond excruciating.

Anna explained she'd been waiting for Sam, when Malfoy had cursed her from behind. The fight was not fair and she'd been given no chance to fight back. A shame because Anna was a surprisingly accomplished duellist and did well in her Defence Classes.

Fortunately, by Sunday evening Anna was deemed well enough to return to their dormitory. But Minnie could tell that Anna was changed. She'd always been a quietly confident girl, sure of herself and her place in the world. Now she startled easily. Her movements were less assured. She was not so trusting. It really broke Minnie's heart to see the friend she admired so much reduced to this shadow.

What could Minnie do to help? Hogwarts these days was dangerous on the inside, but even more so on the outside.

Monday was business as usual. Or so she thought until her final class of the day – Advanced Charms. Their 7th year of Charms school work thus far mostly involved non-verbal charms related to food and water. 'They are the trickiest of charm spells, as the subjects of your charms have to then be consumed. No point charming your pastries to perfect crispness if they taste burnt!' Flitwick called out as he strolled around the classroom.

The Hufflepuff students took Charms class with the Ravenclaws, and was usually Minnie's favourite class of the week. However today, she overheard a familiar name.

'Sirius is being such a gentleman with Prisha,' Minnie heard a fellow Ravenclaw talking to her friend in Charms. 'She says he's happy to go at her pace and just take things slow – like a proper relationship.'

The other replied, 'they are rather cute together, aren't they? Their babies would be gorgeous!' She giggled.

'Now you're just getting ahead of yourself.' The first girl held up a finger. 'Though I did hear that Sirius is taking Prisha to the Gryffindor vs Slytherin Quidditch match this weekend and Prisha hinted that she's in for a pregame snog!'

It was with this image in her head that Minnie excused herself to the bathroom, where she vomited her lunch into the toilet. She put down the toilet seat and sank onto it, letting her head fall into her hands as she tried to stop shaking.

'What am I doing?!' She said aloud and Moaning Myrtle giggled at the anguish in her voice.

'Are you sick?' She asked with delight. 'Poooor yoooooou.'

Minnie left the bathroom, her rage palpable. _Two can play this game, Black._

* * *

Breakfast before a Quidditch Match was always a volatile affair. Nerves were high among players, insults were hurled between tables and everyone else was excitable.

'Wish me luck?'

Minnie turned in her seat to find Regulus at her side, dressed in his position as Slytherin Seeker. He had sported a decent shiner for most of the last week and it had only just begun to fade to yellow. She pasted a smile on her face that felt rubbery and fake.

'Good luck! Not that you'll need it.' A few nearby Hufflepuffs gave her an odd look. Nobody rooted for Slytherin to win over Gryffindor, ever.

'And a kiss too?' He said, arrogantly presenting his cheek. Minnie hesitated. She knew he was watching for Sirius' reaction over heads of the other students.

Minnie planted a kiss on Regulus' cool cheek and then, while thinking about Sirius and Prisha, she impulsively turned his face to her and kissed him on the mouth too.

But it was wrong, all wrong. Like being at the beach on an overcast day or eating cold porridge - an imitation of affection. It was like being in that eerie void of the uncanny valley – too similar to be comfortable. Minnie tried to overcome the instinct to throw his body off her and when he finally ended the kiss, the revulsion that crawled under her skin had her feeling ill.

Regulus however, felt quite differently about the kiss. Where before his interest in her had been solely to devastate his brother, the one who did everything better than he did, he now saw what Sirius liked in the female. She had a sweetness about her, almost childlike but not quite. No, absolutely not childlike, Regulus decided, as he thought about the plump pillow of her lips, the swell of her breasts and hips evident even under school robes. Her parents may be blood traitors, but she could still be conquered and tamed.

It was not Regulus' fault that he looked at women like breeding livestock – it was what he was taught by his own mother, of course. It was all he knew.

Regulus smugly headed back to his own friends and left Minnie to the silent evaluation from the Hufflepuffs around her. She knew they were judging her for kissing a Slytherin as well as the brother of her ex, but Minnie didn't care, they didn't know she had little choice.

Like the old cliché of moths and flames, Minnie raised her eyes to Sirius. She felt her stomach plummet as he darkly eyed her, his face tainted with distaste. Minnie, as calm as she could be considering the circumstances, left the Great Hall, planning to head to the stands of the Quidditch Pitch early. If Sirius wanted to find her, he would.

Perhaps she should have approached him and explained. Perhaps that would have prevented what was about to happen. Perhaps what was about to happen was always destined to be.


	22. Undone and done for

Minnie walked the long route to the Quidditch Pitch alone and slowly, trying to stabilise her thoughts. Other students strode past, their bubbles of excitement irritated her and disturbed her reflections.

She thought she could do this. Could play this game with Regulus. Keep her heart bundled up and closed off because surely the ends justified the means. It was almost December now, the weather bitter, her coat was lying on her bed in her dormitory where she had planned to grab it before the game. The biting cold felt good though. Appropriate.

Despite her best intentions, her resentment at seeing Sirius with Prisha had gotten the better of her and jealousy now roamed her mind unrestrained. It wouldn't have surprised her if Sirius went with the easier option. Minnie was obviously hard work. Why would he wait for her when he had a stunning girl right in front of him, warming his body, showing she cared?

Minnie knew how miserable she was, knew that it had begun to affect her schoolwork and friendships. Wouldn't it be easier to face the petty Slytherin threats and hexes? Wouldn't it be easier to just let go of Sirius when holding on to him so tightly was wounding her?

'Minnie!'

She heard Anna's voice call from behind but Minnie tuned it out. She didn't want to speak to anyone right now, but Anna wasn't going to let that stop her.

'What the hell is going on?!' Anna tried to hand Minnie her coat but Minnie strode on, not acknowledging her. 'What? You think nobody understands what you're going through?'

Minnie continued to ignore her, so Anna quietly said, 'Min, if I were in your position I'd have cracked weeks ago.'

Minnie stopped walking and let the students flow around and bump into her, like a rock in a river, a tree in a storm. She stiffened her chin to the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.

Anna pulled her friend aside, 'you know he's feeling the same way.'

Laughter erupted, acrid and harsh. 'Doubt it.'

'Can't you see it? Isn't it obvious? That boy adores you! He cares about you so much, he's putting your safety above his own wants and needs.' Minnie shook her head against the words she believed to be sugar coated lies. 'Oh, Min. You need to talk to him. You do, talk to him while Regulus is playing Quidditch. Now you're just being as stubborn as he is.'

'Okay.' Minnie sighed. 'Okay, let's go find him. Let's hear from the man himself how much he despises me.'

Anna led Minnie down to the Quidditch Pitch. How could her friend think Sirius despised her, does the girl not look at herself in the mirror? Does she not know how warm and friendly and sweet and clever she is?

Anna had heard of the little display at breakfast from her boyfriend Sam, but thought it to be a necessary evil. Sirius needed a little wake up call, she thought he was playing this game a little obsessively. Perhaps he'd forgotten that this ploy was supposed to be about protecting Minnie, not about hoodwinking Regulus, beating him, being the victor.

Whatever was about to happen this morning between Minnie and Sirius, this ruse needed to end.

At the base of the grandstands, the girls spotted Prisha sitting alone but with an empty seat beside her, presumably saved for Sirius. Anna subtly pointed to Remus and Peter a few rows up and Minnie clambered up to them, a little out of breath and with hair in her face.

'I'm looking for Sirius,' she breathed, not wanting Prisha to hear the name.

Remus burrowed his eyebrows but tried not to judge her for the exhibition of disloyalty she'd displayed at breakfast. 'I saw him talking to James last, but-' and Minnie tore off for the Gryffindor changing rooms as Anna mouthed, good luck!

Minnie's shoe slipped on the sloshy and muddy field as she skidded into where the Gryffindor team were having a pregame pep talk. They all turned at once to stare at her.

'Where's Sirius?' She panted.

'Not here.' Came James' icy reply.

'Fine,' and she turned to leave.

'Minnie, wait!'

Minnie waited and ignored the raised eyebrows and shared glances from the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

James sighed. 'He's down by the Forbidden Forest. Taking a walk. You should find him there.'

'Thanks!' She called and tore off again.

I'm not going to cry.

I'm not going to cry.

I'm not going to cry.

Minnie ran to the outer perimeter of the Forbidden Forest and turned on the spot, scanning the grounds for a lone figure. Where could he be? Not in the forest?

A deep rumbling growl erupted from the Forbidden Forest behind her and she spun around so fast that she lost her balance and fell. Before her loomed a beast, a large grim like dog with sharp canine teeth bared.

She inched backwards as the dog approached, her heart thumping so hard it hurt. Drawing her wand stopped the creature in his tracks and she unsteadily drew herself to her feet. At the same time, the dog did too – his body morphing and elongating as he shifted his weight back onto his hind legs, until a second later a man stood before her. Her Sirius.

But not her Sirius. He stood there and regarded her coolly, a mask of haughtiness and arrogance was back in place. It was as though she'd stepped back in time, like the last two years had never happened.

Minnie stared back at the person who used to be hers and saw an ocean engulf the space between them. 'I'm so sorry,' she said and it sounded pitiful. 'I…' And Minnie started crying, for that was all she felt like doing these days.

Sirius watched her, distant and seemingly uncaring before his indifferent face folded and he drew her to him, enveloping her. He held her face and kissed her lips, her cold nose, her moist eyelids, anywhere he could.

'Why, Minnie? Why would you do that?'

She cried, 'You and Prisha-'

'But you know I don't care about her, like I care about you.' Sirius hugged her tightly. 'You know I love you right?' Minnie shook her head, her face pressed into his chest but she smiled through the tears. 'No? You don't know I love you? Have I not said it? Because I do, I love you Minnie.'

'I love you too. And…' Minnie let out a deep breath. 'I can't do this anymore, this game, I can't keep it up until next summer.'

And Sirius agreed.

So they made new plans – the kind of plans that made their hearts sing with joy. For Minnie to be officially disowned that Christmas, just three weeks away. For them to stand up to Regulus together.

'Minnie, what am I going to do with you.' Sirius muttered into her soft hair.

* * *

If only magic were that simple. To get out of a magically bound contract by merely asking to be disowned. Unfortunately, magic doesn't work like that. It senses intent. Sirius evaded the devastating side effects of the magical contract because he never sought out an escape from it, it was thrust upon him in a moment of maternal rage. Minnie, unaware that she had sealed her own fate by choosing Sirius over Regulus, had set in motion a series of events that will eventually lead to her ill-fated and catastrophic end. Because those who break a magical bond are always doomed.


	23. The enemy of my enemy

Severus Snape never attended Quidditch matches at the school. To be around all those people, to watch Potter play to the admiration of girls like Lily. It made him sick. He much preferred the weight and darkness of the outer portion of the Forbidden Forest. So long as he never ventured too far away from the border, he was not in any danger. Although sometimes he liked to imagine he was.

His last summer was an interesting one. At the age of 17, an adult wizard and no longer at the mercy of underage magic laws, Severus ensured his muggle father paid the price for the misery he bestowed upon his mother and himself. The daily insults, the bruises his mother carried, the maltreatment and abuse made this an event several years in the making.

One evening, in the middle of July, Severus had waited for his father outside of the local pub in Cokeworth. Once his father was well and truly drunk on the welfare money that was supposed to have lasted their family the month, Severus had tailed the man as he stumbled home along the river. All it took was a neat Levicorpus to his back, then Severus Snape dangled his own father over the dirty river and watched him drown.

The muggle authorities wrote it down as accidental. The man had become so drunk, he'd slipped and fell, and was unable to get out. It was unfortunate, they'd told his wife, Eileen Snape, but these things happen. His mother had been distraught, but she was better off without Tobias Snape in her life.

It was Severus Snape's first murder and perfectly fitting, since he had used a spell of his own creation.

This brings us to the day Snape was in the Forbidden Forest while every other student was on the Quidditch Pitch.

He was searching for Thestrals, sure that he should finally be able to see them, when he witnessed something he really shouldn't have. A personal conversation between Sirius Black and Wiliamina Fawley, a girl he knew to be under a betrothal contract to fellow Death Eater and Slytherin, Regulus Black.

Snape held a deep-seated hatred for Sirius Black since their 5th year. When his continual tormentor had thought it funny to tell him how to get past the Whomping Willow, where he knew he'd find a Werewolf. He'd risked Snape's life for a laugh and it had resulted in a humiliating rescue by James Potter.

Since that night, Snape harboured a noxious grudge towards Black, one that had rotted him from the inside out and had never been sated. But retribution had come at last.

As soon as the Quidditch Match was over (Gryffindor won, much to Slytherin's chagrin) Snape divulged to Regulus what he'd seen on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forrest. The secret conversation. The plans to dupe Regulus. The disowning that would let the two of them be together. Severus Snape felt that Sirius Black was the last person on Earth to deserve happiness.

Regulus felt foolish. His elder brother had won again. Of course he did. He always did. But not all was lost. With this new information and an ally to help, Regulus and Severus devised a plan to separate Sirius from the girl he cherished most.

* * *

Watching Minnie kiss Regulus was the most disturbing sight of Sirius' life.

He'd seen his estranged brother saunter over to Minnie during the pre-match breakfast, and knew from his swagger and his smirk that something was about to happen. So he'd watched them interact from the corner of his eye, ready to step in and protect her if necessary. Instead, his stomach turned as he witnessed the repulsive kiss between his brother and his girl.

He had almost snapped his own wand within his clenched fist, as he felt his temper flare and his body shudder with the pure hatred he felt at the both of them. Remus' firm hand on his wand arm restricted the impulse Sirius had to curse his sibling, a nasty spell already on the tip of his tongue.

His careful demeanour had finally broken. For the first time in weeks he'd looked straight into Minnie's tearful eyes and didn't care what she saw in his. When she left the Great Hall, he had no intention of chasing after her. He just let her go.

Remus had looked at him with sympathy, James' face was one of anger, Peter just gaped.

Sirius had rested his elbows on the table, dug the palms of his hands into his eye sockets and groaned.

'I can't believe she did that!' James had exploded, slamming his fist onto the table. 'Padfoot, mate, you deserve better than that.'

'Yes!' Peter had squeaked and mimicked James with a fist on the table too.

'I don't think you should jump to conclusions just yet.' Remus was quick to interject. 'The poor girl has had to endure watching you cosy up with Prisha for-'

'But I've never snogged Prisha.' Sirius interrupted. 'And I wouldn't either. Don't defend the girl, Moony!'

'I'm just saying she's more sensitive than you are, she doesn't have your ironclad self-confidence. Have you even spoken to Minnie lately?'

'Yes.' Sirius spat through gritted teeth. 'At Hogsmeade.'

'And?' Remus prompted.

But Sirius remained quiet. Minnie had asked him if he was _enjoying his date with Prisha,_ and followed with _then why are you flaunting her in my face,_ both said with barely concealed jealousy. Sirius had forgotten about it in light of the Slytherin attack on the Muggle-born girl, Anna Wright and Minnie's friend. The Cruciatus Curse from the Malfoy girl that Sirius was sure was orchestrated by his brother. And in his rush to help, he'd brushed Minnie off and forgotten about it.

Later, when he spoke to Minnie in the Hospital Wing he'd avoided her eyes, feeling guilty that Regulus was not expelled. You see, he'd protected his brother, glossed over his actions to Dumbledore. Because if Regulus was expelled, he would be within Voldemort's grasp. And there he would stay.

Not to say that Sirius enjoyed watching Regulus take up with Minnie, far from it in fact. These days Sirius carried a hard ball of jealousy with him where ever he went. It sat in his core, festered and rotting, and swelled whenever he saw his girlfriend talking to his brother, until green was all he saw. At first he refused to acknowledge such a weak emotion, and then when it could no longer be ignored, he channelled his energy into this love triangle of deception that he now called his life.

He'd lost focus. Had become consumed with petty one-upmanship. Obsessed with outwitting his brother, and by playing the happy couple game with Prisha, he'd forgotten that the whole reason they were doing this was for Minnie's protection. It had never been about winning.

James, as Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, was due down at the pitch early and Sirius offered to walk him down. Leaving Remus and Peter at the breakfast table, the two best friends walked out of the castle, each lost in their own thoughts.

'Do you think you'll forgive her, then?' James asked. 'I keep wondering, if I were in your shoes and Lily did that to me, could I get over it? But I can't imagine being in your shoes right now. It's just too fucked up.'

Sirius shrugged, afraid of what he would hear if he opened his own mouth.

What he needed right now, was to be a dog. To simplify his thoughts, to escape the vision of Minnie kissing Regulus that threatened to do him in.

James understood. Sirius wished his friend good luck in his game, and James had promised to have the Beaters target Regulus during this game, to try to even the playing field for Sirius.

So Sirius morphed into his animagus dog form, an experience that had become as natural as breathing. He barrelled across the castle grounds enjoying the feeling of the wind in his fur, his powerful canine limbs struck the ground and propelled him forward too fast to think about anything else.

In the forest he hunted and tore into a wild doe, more out of pent up energy than hunger, but sent out a silent apology to his stag friend for killing his spirit animal.

And then he had caught scent of a familiar smell. Minnie's unique aroma of aged library books and chocolate. He was still furious, but he tracked her scent to her and snarled at her, hoping to scare her off.

He wasn't ready to talk to her. But she'd stumbled and pointed her wand at him, and so he had transformed back, bracing himself for the onslaught of human emotions that were about to overwhelm him.

He'd watched her cry, which caused him yet more pain.

Sirius simply hadn't realised how much he'd hurt Minnie with his display of affections towards Prisha. He'd assumed Minnie knew he loved her. It hadn't occurred to him that she'd eventually been run down by doubt and insecurity, until Minnie had felt so unsure of her place in his life, that she was afraid to ask him matter-of-factly, _do you still like me?_ To which the answer would've most assuredly been, _are you nuts? Of course!_

* * *

Minnie felt light.

She walked around the castle with a bounce in her step and a warmth in her chest, knowing the next three weeks would fly by.

As soon as the Quidditch match had ended, Minnie and Sirius joined the throng of students walking back to the castle. Minnie ran up behind Anna and jumped onto her piggyback style, throwing her off centre and causing her to stager into a couple of third years. She excitedly brought her up to speed on her plan to be free of the contract that Christmas, and Anna said, _good. About Bloody time._

At the castle, Minnie ran up to the Owlery with renewed energy and wrote a letter to her brother. That letter was a detailed account Regulus' out of line behaviour and an apology. She felt incredibly guilty, putting her own peace of mind before the safety of her family. But she was done. She'd gone along meekly with this marriage contract for years, but enough was enough. She felt sorry for her brother and his five month pregnant wife, their year in hiding was obviously hard on them, but siding with the Death Eaters, however distantly, was the wrong idea.

Funnily enough, Charlie understood. His year in hiding had taught him plenty about the types of wizards he wanted to surround himself with, and the Black family wasn't worth it. Besides, nobody was safe, not even those closest to You-know-who himself. And to be frank, Charlie was itching to join the Order of the Phoenix, and repay the Death Eaters for what they had done to his family.

When she saw Sirius around the castle, he looked happier, better rested. How had she not noticed that he was as deeply affected by their separation as she was? He stood taller these days, smiled more. His hair had been cut recently and it no longer hid his clever eyes. The look suited him.

Herbology lessons were no longer a place of torment and she spent many an afternoon gazing at the elegant slope of the back of his neck as he bent over the plants in the soft light of greenhouse. She no longer cared so much if other students saw her.

She never spoke to Sirius, but she found sketches of dogs and constellations tucked into her Charms text book, sometimes sweets made their way into her pockets. How he'd gotten them in there without her knowing was a mystery. But that was Sirius Black for you.

She felt sorry for Prisha. Minnie knew that falling for Sirius Black was as easy as falling asleep. She'd learned (through the grapevine as per usual) that Prisha was so pissed at being stood up for their Quidditch date, they'd quarrelled in the Gryffindor commonroom, and she'd pushed him into the fireplace and set his robes alight. But a girl who looked like Prisha would have no trouble finding a replacement, Minnie was sure that most of the male student body would be tripping over each other to be the replacement.

Regulus treated her the same as always. Uncaring. Possessive. The kiss she had shared with him was locked away in a deep cavity of her mind, never to be pulled out and thought about again.

If she had looked closely into Regulus' eyes she'd have seen the red flags. She'd have seen anger and resentment. If she looked closely she might have known that she and Sirius had been found out. But she didn't look closely. So she didn't know.


	24. Days of lasts

Minnie's last day alive began like all the others. Mundane.

It was the last week of school before Christmas break, but still just a Tuesday as far as her Professors were concerned. A morning of double Transfiguration with the Slytherins. An afternoon of Charms and then Potions with the Ravenclaws. She yawned her way through the day, groaned when given homework so close to Christmas, and thought about how she was going to spend her Christmas holidays. Minnie was dying to see Sirius' flat, so maybe she would find an excuse to go see him. She just could not imagine such a rebellious teenage boy like Sirius performing household cleaning charms and cooking dinner. Would he cook for her? She grinned into her shoulder at the thought.

In the hours before dinner, Minnie had hoped to make a head start of the 12-inch essay on human to reptile transfiguration for Professor McGonagall. _Discuss three difficulties that only occur in human to reptilian transfiguration._ Ugh. Minnie thought one might be related to transfiguring from hot to coldblooded organisms but hadn't a clue what the other two were. She'd tugged her textbook, A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration from her bag when a photograph fell into her lap.

It was of herself and Sirius, taken sometime at the end of her sixth year, when life was still easy, her days sunlit and carefree. She watched as in the photograph Sirius kept mussing her hair and her photographic-self attempted to straighten it. Minnie had forgotten what Sirius' lopsided grin looked like, he didn't smile as much these days.

She flipped the photograph over, wondering how Sirius continued to slip these little things into her belongings without her knowledge. On the back was an elegant script, the kind of handwriting that made her feel rather unrefined. It said,

 _Minnie_

 _At 6pm tonight, make your way to the Whomping Willow and use a branch to poke the knot on the trunk. This will immobilise the violent branches. Between the roots you'll find the entrance to a passage._

 _Come find me._

The note was left unsigned. But that was what Sirius was like, being all mysterious as usual.

The last conversation Minnie had with Anna was about steak and kidney pie.

'It's just gross, you know? Offal. The organs, blegh!' Anna gave an exaggerated shudder.

Minnie who ate everything and thought it was all delicious, disagreed. 'How am I only just finding this out about you now? I don't even know who you are anymore.'

Anna laughed, choking a little on her mashed potatoes. 'Sure you know me. I'm Anna Kidney-Pie-Is-Gross Wright. Have I not told you my middle name before?'

'I think I need to reconsider our friendship.' Minnie deadpanned.

'Seven years in? I think you're stuck with me now.'

Minnie looked at her watch. It was 5.45pm.

Minnie left Anna to continue her dinner with her boyfriend Samuel. The two had become rather adorable, and she envied her friend her easy relationship.

During dinner she'd watched Sirius in conversation with his friends. Whatever they were discussing, the matter was grave and Remus looked unwell, again. He looked up at one point and slyly winked at her across the room. He was her diamond in the rough, but she was sure he would shine up to become a great man indeed.

As she left the Great Hall, he didn't give any indication that he would be soon joining her, but after all, Sirius had shown her that he was very good at playing it cool.

Minnie was hit by a blast of freezing air as soon as she left the castle. She lit her wand with the thought of _lumos!,_ hunched her shoulders and set off across the grounds. It was on the brink of snow; Minnie could feel it in the air.

 _Already dark so early,_ _where's the moonlight tonight? Ah, lost behind those clouds_. Minnie thought. _With all the secret passageways and rooms in the castle, couldn't Sirius have met me inside?_ She grimaced. _Just like him to lead me somewhere dangerous, probably thinks it great fun._

Minnie was so lost in thought that she'd almost gotten too close to the somewhat sentient Whomping Willow and it had swung a warning swipe at her. She held her wand aloft and searched the area for a branch, thinking it would take a while to find one sturdy and long enough to reach the trunk. But no, a branch that looked exactly like she needed was just a few steps away from her.

Feeling a little foolish, Minnie roughly stabbed her stick at whirl of wood on the tree trunk, and almost dropped both wand and stick in surprise when the branches froze, just like the message said. She stood there dumbstruck for a moment, then raced to the base of the tree. Tucked away between the roots was an opening. Minnie lowered her lit wand into the hole and saw that the ground sloped down away from her, the end of the passage out of sight. Minnie chewed her lip doubtfully, but could see the Willow stirring again and with a deep breath, she eased herself in feet first.

Her feet gave way on the sleet coated ground and with her heart in her mouth, she slid to the bottom. When the floor levelled out a few feet down and she unsteadily rose to her feet.

She held her lit wand in front of her. The passage was narrow, the ceiling low, a dim ring of light from the opening behind her beckoned. The common room would be toasty warm right about now. _Should I turn around? Or could I brave it?_ She wrapped her damp cloak firmly around herself. _No chickening out, this time. I really want to see Sirius._

Minnie, her illuminated wand tip held in front of her to ward off the darkness, progressed deeper into the tunnel. It was possibly the first time in her life that she had ever felt claustrophobic. She was acutely aware of the densely packed earth sitting over her waiting to come crashing down on her. Her slightly damp robes clung to her, her skin prickled with goose bumps and the tunnel was seemingly endless.

Just when Minnie was starting to feel quite panicked, she came to an overhead trap door, with relief she opened the latch and climbed up. Here she found herself in an old house. The wallpaper was peeling. The furniture shredded. The floorboards dusty and old.

Minnie felt cold. Colder than she'd ever felt in her life. A chill that penetrated right to her bone marrow and darkened her thoughts. Her shuddering breath fogged up. Her numb fingers fumbled her wand and it dropped from her hand, rolled away and extinguished.

The last thing Minnie saw before the light snuffed out was the long ripped black cloth of a Dementor, its breath rattled as it inhaled deeply and consumed all the goodness that Minnie held within her.

That night, the inhabitants of Hogsmeade heard the most distressing cry they'd ever experienced from the shrieking shack. It unsettled them. Made them restless. Sleepless. Disturbed.

* * *

Poppy Pomfrey took her duties as a healer seriously. Every injured student who came her way was promptly treated, every hex was undone, every sickness cured. Even students who came to her with heartbreak were given chocolate, a calming draught and a good night's sleep.

For the last six and a half years, on every evening of the full moon, Poppy swiftly assisted the poor Remus Lupin across the grounds and into the passageway that led the shrieking shack. It was routine. The same every month. Until one month it wasn't.

On this month, on this night, Poppy and Remus had made the devastating discovery of a Dementor and a girl, lying unresponsive and unconscious on the dusty floor of the shrieking shack.

Quick thinking and talented spell work from the boy repelled the dementor, but Poppy knew the damage had been done. The poor girl was just a shell. With a heavy heart she summoned a stretcher beneath her and began the long journey back to the castle. Remus was a wreck, understandably, and kept insisting on accompanying her back despite being on the verge of lycanthropic transformation.

That night, James, Peter and Sirius entered the shrieking shack with no clue as to what had progressed there hours before. Remus, already changed and far more agitated than usual, had no way of communicating to Sirius what needed to be said.

Sirius had no inkling that anything was amiss until the very next morning, when Remus, newly human and exhausted beyond measure had grabbed Sirius by the collar of his shirt.

'Get to the hospital wing!' Remus urged, his weak body trying to shove him towards the trap door.

Sirius had laughed, assuming he referred to the superficial claw marks that ran over his shoulder. 'It's just a scratch, mate, I'll be fine.'

'No! Something has happened to Minnie, she was... She was here before I was. Go!' Remus couldn't say the words _attacked_ , or _dementor_ , and he certainly couldn't say the word _kissed._

Sirius, panting from his sprint across the grounds, leaned against the wall in the hallway outside the Hospital Wing to catch his breath. It was just after dawn, the castle was hushed, his elevated heartbeat pulsed in his ribcage. A murmured conversation carried out to where he stood. Dumbledore, by the sounds of it. Pomfrey and McGonagall too. His keen hearing picked up the words _worse than death._

And he ran.


	25. Loss

The loss of a student that day shook the castle to its core. Albus Dumbledore held a moment of silence in the Great Hall under drapes of black and dismissed classes for the last few days of term. He implored the student body to remain strong in the face of the coming darkness. Warned them against the dark creatures that fed on their fears. Then held his goblet up, _to Minnie Fawley,_ he said, _who will be dearly missed._

Dumbledore investigated incident personally, discovered the note on the back of the photograph, then summoned the young Sirius Black to his office. But the boy's friends claimed to have no knowledge of his whereabouts, but insisted that he wouldn't have left the castle. James mumbled something about a missing invisibility cloak and Dumbledore believed them. Incidentally, the other Black brother could also not be found.

Cecilia would say that Charlie was quieter from that day on. Minnie's death (what else could she call it?) had dealt their little family a deep blow. She knew Charlie carried the blame of what happened to his kid sister. The contract with the Blacks should never have been allowed to continue, but these were dark times and he only wanted to protect his wife and unborn child. Could Charlie have done anything differently? Perhaps. Best not to dwell on it. Hindsight is 20/20, or so they say.

Every year after graduating Hogwarts, Anna revisited Hogsmeade to have a Butterbeer in Minnie's name. It soon became a ritual. The first time she made this trip she was 18 years old and she spent it sobbing into her mug. The final time she made the trip she was 103 years old, frail, tired and didn't live to see 104.

James, Remus, Peter and Lily visited Minnie (or rather, the shell that remained) in the Hospital Wing. Remus peaky, rundown inside and out. Lily and James sorrowful. Peter, closed off.

So where was Sirius in the aftermath? I don't think he knew himself. Some students claimed to hear a lonely howl from the Forbidden Forest that night. Others said the castle was haunted by the Grim.

If Regulus had hung around, Sirius would have beat him to within an inch of life and then some. But he hadn't. His brother had disappeared, to join the Death Eaters a year early, Sirius had suspected.

So Sirius spent the week sleeping away the days. His nights were restlessly spent under a cloak of invisibility, either scouring Dark Arts textbooks for a cure, or at Minnie's side, but he found the latter painful.

Minnie functioned. Well, her body did anyway. She woke when the sun rose and slept when it set. She opened her mouth when Madam Pomfrey fed her and swallowed when instructed.

When Sirius sat by her side and removed the cloak she looked to him, but there wasn't a hint of recognition. She tracked his movements with her eyes, but failed to respond to his questions. He tried to talk about their time together, hoping to trigger a response. Hoping beyond reason that there was still something of her left.

Sometimes tears would run from her vacant eyes and Sirius wished that it meant something.

The hours at night in the library frustrated Sirius, and Madam Pince would often enter the next morning to find books strewn about and pages torn from spines. It seemed that nobody was entirely sure what happened to the soul after the Dementor's kiss, however one passage in Magick Moste Evile stated,

 _It is theorised that the soul is either eternally obliterated or is imprisoned in the Dementor. The latter would mean that the person who was kissed is literally trapped in the Dementor's body while the victim is still alive._

And Sirius could read no more after that.

Sirius returned to the Hospital Wing and curled up on the bed next to Minnie, careful to cover himself completely with the cloak. Her body was warm and she breathed deeply as she slept. He watched her for a while, the moonlight shone through the tall windows, bathing her in silver. She looked so peaceful. So much like her original self, that like this it was hard to believe that anything had changed.

Sirius lingered at Minnie's side. Useless. Directionless. For there was nothing more he could do? Right?

Charlie visited the Hospital Wing the following day and Sirius watched him from under the cloak, his fingers clenched tightly around his wand. Her own brother had sold her to the Black family. It would be so easy to blame Charlie for his role in Minnie's demise, much better than to accept his own part that led them here.

But Charlie had looked how Sirius felt. Destroyed. And so Sirius removed the cloak. They both stood opposite each other, both with dark shadows under their eyes, and acknowledged each other, but said nothing.

Minnie was sitting propped up in bed, her eyes stared ahead.

Sirius sat at the end of the bed. Eventually he asked, 'what will happen to her?'

Charlie ran his hand over his unshaven face and shrugged. He hadn't thought that far ahead. 'Saint Mungo's maybe? Dumbledore recommended their long term residence ward. Said she'd be comfortable there.'

And Sirius thought that a lifetime of that was no life at all.

That night, Sirius returned for the very last time. He sat on the edge of her bed and pushed strands of hair away from her face, he traced her lower lip with his finger and memorised her face. In his hand he held a vial of potion of a deep red hue that seemed luminescent. It was commonly known as Baneberry Poison.

He said, _wake up_ and she did. He said _drink_ and she mindlessly obeyed.

He held her hand tightly between his own as her breathing began to labour, her face paled and her skin turned cold and clammy.

Sirius couldn't watch. He stroked her hand and awaited her final breath. Then he picked up Minnie's wilted wand and he turned and left, and didn't look back.

Madam Pomfrey will find her in the morning. Charlie will bury her somewhere nice.

* * *

 **Author's note: Wow! Thank-you for staying with this story to the very end, it has been a pleasure to write and I really hope you've enjoyed reading it.**

 **There may be a small sequel in the future (I think Sirius and Regulus have some unfinished business, don't you?) But for now I need to write something more upbeat with a strong female lead, so I've begun another Sirius fic called _Twelve Months of May, or, The Piglet and the Pup_ \- which you might also enjoy - as per usual, you can easily find it in my Profile**

 **Thank-you so very much! xox**


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